ABSTRACT

Poor health behaviors among North Korean refugees (NKRs) in South Korea are serious risk factors hindering their overall well-being. Despite their significance, little is known about the roles of social networks in promoting health behaviors of NKRs. Thus, we examined how social network characteristics were associated with health-promoting behaviors among 202 NKRs. We found that social networks featuring members of religious organizations were positively associated with overall health-promoting behaviors, health responsibility, exercise, and nutrition, whereas networks with South Korean friends were negatively associated with nutrition. Findings suggest that health interventions facilitating religion-based network ties may promote health behaviors among NKRs.

摘要

在韩国的北朝鲜难民中不良的健康行为是严重阻碍其总体健康的危险因素。尽管具有重要意义，但对于社交网络在促进NKR的健康行为中的作用知之甚少。因此，我们研究了202个NKR之间的社交网络特征与健康促进行为之间的关系。我们发现，以宗教组织成员为代表的社交网络与整体健康促进行为，健康责任，锻炼和营养呈正相关，而与韩国朋友的​​社交与营养呈负相关。研究结果表明，促进基于宗教的网络联系的健康干预措施可以促进NKR之间的健康行为。