The study was done to explore meanings and essence of the experience in South Korea of men defectors from North Korea.

Data were collected from March, 2011 to May, 2012, through in-depth interviews with ten men defectors. Data analysis was conducted using the process of hermeneutic phenomenological reflection.

Eight essential themes were extracted; 'buoyant expectation for a new life', 'feeling guilty about family left behind in North Korea', 'inability to become acclimatized due to communication difficulties', 'inability to socialize with South Koreans due to different lifestyles', 'finding strength through trustworthy acquaintances', 'continuing reconciliation with oneself while trying to assimilate into South Korean culture', 'self-realization of one's original self', and 'continuing to feel out the possibility of a future in South Korea'.

The findings indicate that North Korean men who defect to South Korea shape their identity through three phases: forming self-image during escape from North Korea, trying to become accustomed to South Korean society, and finding their own identity by self-realization of their original self. Eventually, the whole process enables them to recover their identity, to feel a sense of belonging, and to discover possibilities for a better future.

This study was done to identify the distribution and related factors for stage of change for wearing hearing protection devices (HPDs) by workers in environments with high noise. Predictors of Use of Hearing Protection Model and Trans-theoretical Model were tested.

The participants were 755 workers from 20 noisy work places in Busan and Gyeongnam. Data were collected from January to April 2008 using self-administered questionnaires, and analyzed using multiple logistic regression.

There were significant differences in social mode (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.06-1.73) between precontemplation/contemplation and preparation stage, in males (OR=2.36, 95% CI: 1.24-4.51), workers with high school education or less (OR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.28-2.78), shift workers (OR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.02-2.21), workers who previously worked in noisy places (OR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.20-2.34), and workers who had previous hearing examinations (OR=1.89, 95% CI: 1.25-2.85), in the social model (OR=1.59, 95% CI: 1.42-1.78), and self-efficacy (OR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.08) between workers in preparation and action stages, in length of time working in noisy work places (OR=2.26, 95% CI: 1.17-4.39), social model (OR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.33-2.08), and perceived benefit (OR=0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.97) between action and maintenance stage.

Social model was a common factor showing differences between two adjacent stages for wearing HPDs. The results provide data for developing programs to encourage workers to wear HPDs and application of these programs in work settings.

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of mental health hospital workers.

Participants in the study were a total of 8 mental health hospital workers who consisted of nurses, social welfare workers and health managers. To prevent them from being omitted, the interviews were all recorded under the participants prior agreement. The method was analysis using the phenomenological method proposed by Colaizzi(1978).

The experiences of the participants of this study were classified into 15 significant areas, from which 10 subjects hard work, conflicts, heavy feeling, irritability, getting familiar, changes of recognition, aptitude determination, feeling of achievement and sense of pride were drawn out. These subjects were then grouped into 5 themes. These five themes were finally grouped into 5 categories, negative emotion, depressive emotion, changes of thinking, delight and value discovery.

The study tried to analyze the experiences of key informants like nurses, social welfare workers and health managers all of whom were serving at mental health hospitals, contribute to social recognition about the special medical establishment, promote qualitative mental health nursing and further provide educational information necessary for understanding mental health hospital workers.