탈북여성 및 결혼이주여성 건강 실태 조사 = The Health Conditions of the North Korean Women Defectors and the Marriage Immigrant Women

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Purpose: This study attempts to understand the current health conditions of the North Koreanwomen defectors and the marriage immigrant women by conducting medical examinations to themin order to prepare better healthcare programs for the women.
Methods: From July 2011 to February 2013, complimentary medical examinations were conductedfor eight times to the North Korean women defectors and the marriage immigrant women underthe support of International Aid Korea (IAK) and seven obstetrics and gynecology hospitals andclinics. The number of total examinee was 219 composed of 138 North Korean women defectorsand 81 marriage immigrant women. The study items included routine gynecological examinations,BMD (bone mineral density), test of hemoglobin level, hepatitis B antigen/antibody, Pap. smear,and sexually transmitted infections (syphilis, HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomonas, HPV).
Results: Anemia was diagnosed for 32.8% of the North Korean women defectors and 67% of themarriage immigrant women. The hepatitis B antigen positive rate was 11.8% for the North Koreanwomen defectors and 6.7% for the marriage immigrant women while the hepatitis B antibody positiverate was 80.3% for the North Korean women defectors and 67% for the marriage immigrantwomen. In the result of BMD, 48.6% of the North Korean women defectors and 46.9% of the marriageimmigrant women had osteopenia or osteoporosis. The result of Pap smear revealed abnormalfindings of 4.1% for the North Korean women defectors and 4.3% for the marriage immigrantwomen. HPV positive rate was 29.1% for the North Korean women defectors and 22.4% for themarriage immigrant women. In the tests for sexually transmitted infection, 4.5% of the NorthKorean women and 8.2% of the marriage immigrant women were positive to chlamydia and 4.5%of the North Korean women defectors and 2% of the marriage immigrant women were positive totrichomonas.
Conclusion: There are 18,776 North Korean women defectors and 206,369 marriage immigrantwomen who are living in South Korea. Most of them are socially and economically disadvantagedand belong to vulnerable class who are in a lack of access to appropriate medical care. This was a fundamental study to understand the current health conditions of the North Korean women defectorsand the marriage immigrant women. Further studies with larger population and more developedresearch frameworks will provide not only meaningful health statistics of the North Koreanwomen defectors and the marriage immigrant women, but also give better direction for effectivehealth support programs for the underprivileged women.

참고문헌 (Reference)

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