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

在韩国的朝鲜难民 (NKR) 的不良健康行为是阻碍他们整体福祉的严重风险因素。尽管它们很重要，但人们对社交网络在促进 NKR 健康行为方面的作用知之甚少。因此，我们研究了社交网络特征如何与 202 名 NKR 的健康促进行为相关联。我们发现，以宗教组织成员为特色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​​网络与营养呈负相关。研究结果表明，促进基于宗教的网络联系的健康干预可能会促进 NKR 之间的健康行为。