Influence of health food literacy on willingness to pay for healthier foods: focus on food insecurity.

BACKGROUND: The repercussions of food insecurity are widely recognized to negatively impact overall health and are influenced by a complex interplay of physiological, psychological, social, and environmental factors. METHODS: This study examined the disparities in food consumption and literacy between among food security households and food insecurity households using data from the Korea Rural Economic Institute's 2022 Consumer Behavior Survey for Food, which involved 3,321 respondents. RESULTS: Food security households had a greater understanding of and better attitude toward healthier food choices than food insecurity households. Economic ability was identified as having the most significant association with food purchasing behavior, with food security households spending more on average than food insecurity households. Structural equation modeling demonstrated the association of knowledge and attitude with dietary implementation and underscored the significance of consumer literacy as a factor related to willingness to pay for healthier foods. CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the intertwined relationships among financial capacity, knowledge, and health-conscious dietary choices. It also suggests the need for targeted interventions addressing economic and educational gaps to foster healthier food consumption patterns across different socioeconomic contexts.

Application of the extended parallel process model and risk perception attitude framework to obesity knowledge and obesity prevention behaviors among Korean adults.

BACKGROUND: Perceiving oneself as obese has been associated with weight loss attempts. However, such a perception may not sufficiently drive significant weight reduction in many individuals. Hence, relying solely on the traditionally emphasized perceived risk of behavioral changes in obesity is challenging. This study used an extended parallel process model and a risk perception attitude framework to explore the influence of perceived risk and perceived efficacy on individual obesity knowledge and obesity prevention behaviors. METHODS: Data were obtained from 1,100 Korean adults aged 40-69 years through an online survey conducted in October 2022. Multinomial logistic regression and analysis of variance were employed to assess the relationships among perceived risk, perceived efficacy, obesity knowledge, and obesity prevention behaviors. RESULTS: Sex was associated with being underweight, overweight, and obese. Moreover, perceived severity was associated with obesity, whereas perceived susceptibility was associated with overweight and obese. Response efficacy was related to being overweight alone, whereas self-efficacy was associated with being underweight, overweight, and obese. The main effects of sex and perceived risk, and their interaction effect were statistically significant for obesity knowledge. Additionally, the main effects of sex, perceived risk, and perceived efficacy on obesity prevention behaviors were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The extended parallel process model and risk perception attitude framework proved effective in classifying obesity based on body mass index, obesity knowledge, and obesity prevention behaviors.

Comparative study of poverty dynamics and income structure: Pre and post COVID-19 impact on households with and without disabilities in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic, as an external shock, has affected the health and economic well-being of individuals. Vulnerable populations with limited resources have also been affected, exacerbating societal inequalities throughout the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: This study examined poverty dynamics in South Korea before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, focusing on changes in the poverty status and income structure of the population with and without disabilities. METHODS: We conducted a multinomial logistic regression analysis using data from the 14th and 16th waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study. RESULTS: The results show that the pandemic had a significant impact on income levels, particularly for individuals who experienced poverty, and notable differences were observed in income structures between groups with and without disabilities. While individuals without disabilities relied primarily on business income and regular as well as irregular income prior to experiencing poverty, those with disabilities experienced a decline in irregular and private transfer income. In addition, the poverty escape groups with and without disabilities showed increases in regular and irregular income. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show how current population groups with and without disabilities have experienced changes in the poverty structure due to COVID-19. These results highlight the need for a comprehensive social protection system to address the external shocks faced by vulnerable populations.

Predicting adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures among South Korean adults aged 40 to 69 Years using the expanded health empowerment model.

The public health environment in South Korea is advancing toward the late stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is limited knowledge about the extent of individuals' compliance with preventive measures during this transitional period and the potential predictors that determine such compliance behaviors. In this study, we employed the expanded health empowerment model to investigate factors associated with COVID-19 preventive behaviors among Korean adults in late 2022. Our theoretical framework integrates the knowledge-attitude-behavior model with the health belief model to conceptualize health empowerment underlying the formation of preventive behaviors. We collected data from 1100 Korean adults aged 40-69 years through an online survey conducted in October 2022. Participants responded to questions about their knowledge of COVID-19, attitudes towards the disease, adherence to preventive measures, infection history, and sociodemographic characteristics. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the relationships between knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors related to COVID-19. Results showed that attitudes toward the disease predict adherence to preventive behaviors. We also found that COVID-19 knowledge partially determined the attitudes toward the disease. However, COVID-19 knowledge was not directly associated with adherence to preventive behaviors. Additionally, the associations between knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors did not differ between infected and never-infected individuals. Overall, this study finds empirical support for the expanded health empowerment model, which connects knowledge to preventive behaviors through positive attitudes toward the disease, while underscoring the limited role of infection history in this association. These findings can help policymakers understand individual responses to public health guidelines in the late pandemic era and develop policies to mitigate further transmission of COVID-19.

The moderating effect of information channel on the relationship between type of information search and knowledge of genetically modified organisms.

This study explores how the type of information search and information channel can influence the objective knowledge of consumers on genetically modified organisms. We divided the types of information search on genetically modified organisms into active and passive seekers, and then examined how their knowledge differed depending on preferred the information channel (i.e., government, portals, non-government organization (NGO) sites). An online survey was conducted with Korean men and women aged 19 or older. The main and interaction effects of the type of information search, and government, portal, and NGO sites were statistically significant. The results showed that active information seekers who prefer government, portal, and NGO sites have lower scores of knowledge on genetically modified organisms than that of passive information seekers, given the confusion of competing and sometimes inaccurate information sources.

Consumer empowerment and self-assessment of empowerment.

This study examined the influence of consumer empowerment and its self-assessment on consumers' information search behavior and consumer life satisfaction; it also examined whether the results were consistent with the Dunning-Kruger effect. A total of 977 consumers who participated in a national consumer survey were divided into four groups, based on their level of empowerment and self-assessment. The Dunning-Kruger effect was observed in the consumer empowerment results, with 35.9% of respondents showing imbalanced empowerment and self-assessment levels. A general linear model was used to examine the survey results, which indicated that the main effect of empowerment had no significant effect on information searching or consumer life satisfaction. However, there was a significant main effect of self-assessment on both dependent variables. In addition, the interaction of empowerment and self-assessment had a significant effect only on information search behavior. Consequently, it can be concluded that self-assessed empowerment, rather than actual consumer empowerment, affects information search and consumer life satisfaction.

Adolescents' Game User Type Based on Adaptive and Maladaptive Game Use.

Objective: This study classified adolescents into specific game user types based on their adaptive and maladaptive game use and then examined the differences in mental health, academic achievement, and quality of life according to game user type. Materials and Methods: This study performed a secondary analysis of data from the ninth analysis of the "Game User Panel" data published by the Korean Creative Content Agency. In addition, an analysis of variance with a post hoc Tukey test was conducted to examine the differences in mental health, academic achievement, and quality of life according to game-use type. This was a retrospective study using secondary deidentified data. Results: Among the total respondents, 39.5% of adolescents were classified as general game users (GGUs), 11.3% as adaptive game users (AGUs), 11.2% as maladaptive game users (MGUs), and 38.0% as twofold game users (TGUs). GGUs had the lowest scores for depression and anxiety, followed by higher scores in AGUs, TGUs, and MGUs. In addition, GGUs scored higher on quality of life than the other groups while the AGUs had higher scores on academic achievement than other groups. Conclusion: Adolescents experience both adaptive and maladaptive use, and experiencing only adaptive use without maladaptive use has been shown to be relatively infrequent. Therefore, education about online game use for adolescents should not be uniformly provided given the psychological characteristics of each group; instead, it should be customized based on game user type.

Consumers' participation in information-related activities on social media.

This study examined the relationship between consumers' characteristics and social media use, focusing on consumers' information-related activities such as creating content, sharing information, and providing feedback on information. The results showed that consumers' creating content, sharing information, and providing of feedback on information were affected by their digital literacy, need for cognition, and self-esteem. Information literacy and need for cognition had positive effects on engagement in these information-related activities, but self-esteem exerted a negative effect.

The influence of consumers' knowledge on their responses to genetically modified foods.

This study examined the influence of consumers' knowledge on their perceptions and purchase intentions toward genetically modified foods, and the implications of these consumer responses for sustainable development in the food industry. This study distinguished between objective and subjective knowledge and identified how an imbalance between the two knowledge types influenced consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions toward genetically modified foods. Results of a multinomial regression analysis showed that consumers with higher levels of education, income, and food involvement and more exposure to negative information about genetically modified foods tended to overestimate their actual knowledge level. The overestimation group showed a higher risk perception, lower benefit perception, and lower intention to purchase genetically modified foods than other participants. Consumers with less education and higher income were more likely to underestimate their knowledge.

Time burden of caring and depression among parents of individuals with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: The presence of an individual with disability in a family affects the whole family. Families of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) experience increased psychological anxiety and financial problems; specifically, parents tend to feel time pressure and struggle to maintain their social and cultural activities. METHODS: t-Tests and ANOVA with post hoc Tukey tests were used to compare caregiving time, time pressure, and depression between parents. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the effect of caregiving time and time pressure on depression in parents. RESULTS: Regarding depression, 58 (38.2%) respondents scored ≥16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression scale. Respondents supporting a preschool child spent more time than those supporting adults did; those supporting adults reported less time pressure than those supporting individuals of other ages. Caregiving time's effect on depression was not supported, whereas increased time pressure raised the risk of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of depression among parents supporting individuals with CP exceeded preceding findings. Time pressure due to support appears to directly predict depression. Total time spent caring appears unrelated to depression. Implications for Rehabilitation It is necessary to prepare various community and family support systems in order to relieve parental caregivers' burden and exhaustion. Interventions should focus on parents with higher time pressure than parents with high caregiving time. Physical and psychological difficulties experienced by parents supporting a child with a disability vary with the child's life stage, meaning that families' care burden partly depends on the age of the individual with disabilities.

Relationship between caregiving burden and depression in caregivers of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with intellectual disabilities (IWID) need intensive long-term care. Consequently, caregivers experience not only economic burdens but also tension, depression, insecurity, etc. AIM: This study aimed to provide basic data and materials for preparing policy alternatives to improve caregiver quality of life of by examining relationships between IWID caregiving burden and depression. METHODS: This study involved secondary analysis of data from the 2011 Survey on the Actual Conditions of Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea. Effects of caregivers' characteristics, caregiving time and cost, and perceptions of time and cost, on depression were analyzed. RESULTS: All components of caregiving burden and depression were significantly higher in the 1st grade, designating the most severe disabilities. Overall, caregiving burden tended to be higher in female caregivers, the unemployed, parents, co-residents, and people with health problems. Caregivers' characteristics such as spouse relationship, having health problems, and perception of caregiving time and cost were associated with depression. CONCLUSION: Caregiving burden and depression vary depending on the characteristics of IWID and their caregivers. Services for decreasing caregiving burden may be optimized by focusing on these characteristics.

The effects of the smart environment on the information divide experienced by people with disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is connected with every aspect of social, cultural, economic, educational, and commercial activity. Smart devices in particular have changed society and are necessary goods for modern people. Smart device usage is rapidly growing in everyday life, so the ability to use a smart device is increasingly important, yet there is little data supporting increased digital inclusion of people with disabilities in mobile device use. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: This study investigates the effects of the smart environment on the information divide experienced by people with disabilities. METHODS: Data from the 2013 Information Divide Index Data of the National Information Society Agency was analyzed regarding three aspects: access, skill, and competence. The accessibility difference was investigated by comparing access to a PC or smart device in two groups. The effects of a smart environment on the information divide were analyzed using General Linear Modeling (GLM). RESULTS: The access rate was higher for the general group than for that of those with disabilities, and this difference appeared to be greater in the smart environment. The results of the GLM showed that disability and device access had statistically significant effects on skill and all aspects of competence. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence that the smart environment further creates the information divide for people with disabilities. Strategies should be formed to reduce this divide, particularly within smart environments.