Diálogo com a OCDE: indicadores de recursos do sistema brasileiro de saúde em tempos de pandemia / Nota Técnica n. 86 (Disoc) : Diálogo com a OCDE : indicadores de recursos do sistema brasileiro de saúde em tempos de pandemia

Os indicadores de saúde vêm ganhando crescente espaço para informar políticas públicas e acompanhar diversos aspectos do desempenho dos sistemas de saúde. Nesse sentido, os países têm se esforçado para implementar tais indicadores, enquanto organismos internacionais buscam torná-los comparáveis entre países (WHO, 2010; Sachs et al., 2020). Um dos organismos mais identificados com o esforço de coleta e padronização sistemática de indicadores é a Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE). Como parte dos requisitos para integrar a organização, os países membros são instados a informar anualmente um conjunto de dados relacionados a diversos aspectos de suas economias, de governança estatal, de políticas sociais e, inclusive, de saúde. Atualmente, as dimensões da saúde monitoradas por indicadores específicos utilizados pela OCDE incluem: gastos e financiamento em saúde; condições de saúde; determinantes não médicos da saúde; recursos em saúde, subdivididos em emprego e formação profissional em saúde e recursos físicos e técnicos; migração da força de trabalho em saúde; utilização de cuidados de saúde; indicadores de qualidade em cuidados de saúde; mercado farmacêutico; e proteção social. Além disso, são colhidos dados de referências demográficas, que permitem construir indicadores referidos às características demográficas e econômicas de cada país (OECD, 2020a). Desde 1999, as abordagens conceituais e metodológicas, bem como as propostas de exclusão ou inclusão de indicadores, são discutidas pelo menos uma vez por ano em uma reunião na sede da OCDE, em Paris. Até 2017, havia reuniões distintas para correspondentes de dados estatísticos gerais da saúde e para experts em contas de saúde. A partir de 2018, as duas oficinas foram consolidadas no Working Party of Health Statistics. Ainda que não seja formalmente um país membro, o Brasil frequenta há vários anos essas oficinas, na qualidade de parceiro preferencial (key partner) da OCDE (OECD, 2020b). Com a emergência da Covid-19, tornou-se patente a necessidade de inventariar os recursos necessários ao atendimento da emergência sanitária mundial. Esta nota técnica visa atualizar os indicadores brasileiros para leitos de unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) e recursos humanos em saúde, comparando o período imediatamente anterior à pandemia ao período de sua vigência, estabelecendo um diálogo com as propostas de indicadores da OCDE.

Revisión sistemática exploratoria de los mecanismos de pago en la atención del parto en países pertenecientes y no pertenecientes a la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico / A scoping review of the payment mechanisms in childbirth of country members and non-members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

INTRODUCCIÓN Los mecanismos de pago corresponden a la operacionalización de la función de compra en salud, incentivando comportamientos en los proveedores de servicios sanitarios. Resulta pertinente preguntarse cómo afectan la vía de resolución del parto, considerando el aumento generalizado en índices de cesárea a nivel global. OBJETIVO: Describir los mecanismos de pago existentes para la atención del parto en países miembros y no miembros de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico. MÉTODOS: Revisión sistemática exploratoria (scoping review). Se adoptaron los cinco pasos metodológicos del Joanna Briggs Institute. La búsqueda se realizó por las investigadoras de forma independiente, logrando la confiabilidad interevaluador (κ 0,96) en bases de datos electrónicas, otras fuentes de información, sitios web gubernamentales y no gubernamentales. Se tamizó en tres niveles, considerando literatura no mayor a 10 años de antigüedad, idioma inglés y español. Se analizaron los resultados considerando el funcionamiento del mecanismo de pago y sus efectos en prestado-res, seguros y beneficiarias. RESULTADOS: Se obtuvo evidencia de 34 países (50% pertenecientes a la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico). El 64% con uso de más de un mecanismo de pago para el parto. Entre los mecanismos más utilizados están: grupos relacionados de diagnósticos (47,6%), pago por resultados (23,3%), pago por servicios (16,6%) y pago fijo prospectivo (13,3%). CONCLUSIÓN: Los países recurren a la arquitectura de los mecanismos de pago para mejorar indicadores en salud materno-perinatales. Es necesario explorar cuál sería la mejor combinación de mecanismos que mejora la provisión de atenciones de salud y bienestar de la población, en el campo de la salud sexual y reproductiva.

INTRODUCTION: Payment mechanisms serve to put into operation the function of purchasing in health. Payment mechanisms impact the decisions that healthcare providers make. Given this, we are interested in knowing how they affect the generalized increase of C-section rates globally. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to describe existing payment mechanisms for childbirth in countries members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and non-members. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review following the five methodological steps of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The search was conducted by researchers independently, achieving inter-reliability among raters (kappa index, 0.96). We searched electronic databases, grey literature, and governmental and non-governmental websites. We screened on three levels and included documents published in the last ten years, in English and Spanish. RESULTS: were analyzed considering the function of the reimbursement mechanism and its effects on providers, payers, and beneficiaries. Results Evidence from 34 countries was obtained (50% OECD members). Sixty-four percent of countries report the use of more than one payment mechanism for childbirth. Diagnosis-Related Groups (47.6%), Pay-for-performance (23.3%), Fee-for-service (16.6%) and Fixed-prospective systems (13.3%) are among the most frequently used mechanisms. CONCLUSION: Countries use payment mechanism architecture to improve maternal-perinatal health indicators. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the best combination of mechanisms that improve the provision of health care and welfare of the population in the field of sexual and reproductive health.

Access to ICT as active in the study of income generation and vulnerability of young people in Colombia / El acceso a las tic como activo en el estudio de la generación de ingresos y la vulnerabilidad de los jóvenes en colombia

RESUMEN Este artículo toma la discusión de los activos físicos del enfoque activos, vulnerabilidad y estructura de oportunidades (AVEO) y, dentro de ellos, las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (TIC), para analizar la importancia que tienen en la disminución de la vulnerabilidad por la falta de generación de ingresos de los jóvenes en Colombia. Como métodos se hizo revisión documental sobre el enfoque AVEO, se analizó cómo desde la teoría las TIC pueden ser un instrumento de movilización social, se revisaron estadísticas del Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE), la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) y la Comisión Económica para América Latina (Cepal). La hipótesis de este artículo es que el acceso a las TIC en Colombia es aún insuficiente y que garantizar este es fundamental para disminuir la vulnerabilidad de los jóvenes colombianos.

ABSTRACT: This article takes the discussion of the physical assets of the Assets, Vulnerability and Oportunidades Structure (AVEO) approach and, within them, the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), to analyze the importance they have in decreasing the frequency for the lack of income generation of young people in Colombia. How the documentary review on the AVEO approach was made; then it was analyzed as from the theory, ICT can be an instrument of social mobilization; After reviewing the statistics of the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC). The hypothesis of this document is access to ICT in Colombia is even more insufficient and that access is fundamental to reduce the vulnerability of young Colombians.

Calidad del sistema de información en salud: análisis comparativo de indicadores reportados, México OCDE 2010-2016 / Quality of the health information system: A comparative analysis of reported indicators, OECD Mexico 2010-2016

Resumen: Objetivo: Analizar cantidad y calidad de la información sobre indicadores de salud reportada por México a la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). Material y métodos: Análisis de frecuencia de indicadores reportados, calidad de los datos y comparación de valores reportados en el entorno OCDE. Resultados: Se analizan 191 indicadores. México reportó anualmente (2010-2016) 52.9% de ellos. Nunca reportó 45.5%. La mayor frecuencia de no reportados (84%) es en el grupo "Calidad de la atención". En los reportados, la información es de calidad deficiente en 28.7%. Comparativamente, México ostenta los peores resultados de OCDE en indicadores sobre tamizaje de cáncer, mortalidad infantil e intrahospitalaria por infarto de miocardio y hospitalización por diabetes, entre otros. Conclusiones: México tiene problemas de carencia y calidad de la información reportada y valores frecuentemente desfavorables en el entorno OCDE. Se requiere mejorar el sistema de información incidiendo tanto en cantidad como en calidad de los datos, y su utilización efectiva.

Abstract: Objective: To analyze quantity and quality of the information reported by Mexico to OECD in relation to health indicators. Materials and methods: Analysis of frequency of indicators reporting, data quality, and comparison of reported values in the OECD environment. Results: We analyzed 191 indicators. Mexico reported annually (2010-2016) 52.9% of them. Never reported 45.5%. The highest frequency of not reported (84%) is in the "Quality of care" group. Among the reported, information is of poor quality in 28.7% of them. Comparatively, Mexico holds the worst results in OECD indicators on screening of cancer, child and in-hospital mortality from myocardial infarction, and hospitalization for diabetes, among others. Conclusions: Mexico has problems of lack and quality of reported information, and frequently unfavorable values among OECD countries. The information system needs improvement, in both quantity and quality of data, and its effective utilization.

Why Do Japan and South Korea Record Very Low Levels of Perceived Health Despite Having Very High Life Expectancies?

Japan and Korea follow a unique trend in which, despite reporting two of the highest life expectancies (LEs) among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the proportion of people with good self-rated health (SRH) is disproportionately low. We sought to explain this high-LE-low-SRH paradox by examining associations among LE, the prevalence of good SRH, and healthcare utilization. Our hypothesis was that countries with more frequent healthcare use would demonstrate poorer SRH and that SRH would not show a meaningful association with LE among developed countries. This study extracted data from Health at a Glance 2017 by the OECD for 26 countries with valid and comparable information on LE, SRH, and the number of doctor consultations per capita. Correlations among LE, good SRH, and number of doctor consultations per capita were analyzed. The number of annual doctor consultations per capita and the prevalence of good SRH were closely correlated (correlation coefficient=−0.610); excluding outliers produced a higher correlation coefficient (−0.839). Similar patterns were observed when we replaced good SRH with poor SRH. Meanwhile, the correlation coefficient between annual per capita doctor consultations and LE was quite low (−0.216). Although good SRH is closely related to better LE at the individual level, this was not true at the national level. Frequent use of healthcare in Japan and Korea was strongly correlated with poorer SRH, without any meaningful correlation with LE.

Child injury death statistics from 2006 to 2016 in the Republic of Korea

This study aimed to analyze changing trends in child injury deaths from 2006 to 2016 and to provide basic data for initiatives to help prevent child injury deaths through improvements in social systems and education. Specific causes of death were analyzed using micro-data of the death statistics of Korea from 2006 to 2016, which were made available by Statistics Korea. Types and place of death were classified according to the KCD-7 (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death). The data were compared to those of other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Changing trends were presented. The number of child deaths by injury was 270 in 2016. The death rate was 8.1 per 100,000 population in 2006, while it was 3.9 in 2016. The death rate of boys was 1.7 times greater than that of girls. Unintentional injury deaths comprised 72.6% of all child injury deaths in 2016, while intentional injury deaths comprised 27.4%. The first leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in infants (less than 1-year-old) was suffocation, while that of children aged 1 to 14 years was transport accidents. The second leading cause of death in infants was transport accidents, that of children aged 1 to 4 was falling, and that of children aged 5 to 14 was drowning. Pedestrian accidents comprised 43.7% of the transport accidents from 2014 to 2016. To prevent child injury deaths by both unintentional and intentional causes, nation-wide policy measures and more specific interventions according to cause are required.

How to approach to suicide prevention

In early 2018, the National Action Plan for Preventing Suicide was announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and related ministries. The Action Plan presents a realistic goal of reducing suicide mortality to two-thirds of the present level, which would make it 1.4 times higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average (in contrast to current circumstances, in which it is 2.4 times higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average). Several public and private organizations are engaged in various suicide prevention activities. However, it is crucial for a seamless network to be formed, including government organizations, medical institutions, private organizations, and religious organizations. In medical settings, it is imperative that clinicians assess patients' risk of depression or suicide and arrange for a referral service. We need to connect modern social trends with classical mental health treatment modalities by using technologies such as smartphones and the internet. Strategies for research and development and for actual implementation must be established. Suicide prevention requires the active cooperation of not only mental health professionals, but also all physicians and health professionals. Experts in philosophy, sociology, economics, religion, and anthropology must also collaborate to find ways of affirming the importance of human life.

Body Mass Index and Seatbelt Use in Korea: Analyzing the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2015)

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity in Korea is continuously increasing, and there are several international studies that suggest obese populations are not likely to wear seatbelts when driving a car. Even though the rate of seatbelt use in Korean adults is 79.8%, which is much lower than 94% for OECD countries, no studies have been conducted related to this particular issue in Korea. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and seatbelt use in Korea where BMI standards, laws, cultures, and social conventions totally differ from those of western countries.METHODS: This study was conducted on 8,556 drivers, aged 19 or older, using raw data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2015). A stratified and cross-sectional analysis was used to figure out seatbelt use rates according to BMI, and a multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) of seatbelt use by BMI groups.RESULTS: Increase in BMI resulted in a decrease in seatbelt use. The extremely obese group particularly had much lower rates of seatbelt use compared to other groups. After adjusting other variables, only the extremely obese group had much lower rates of seatbelt use (OR 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.53–0.87).CONCLUSION: Seatbelt use rates according to BMI had no significant differences between the non-obese group, the overweight group, and the obese group. However, the extremely obese group had a tendency to not wear seatbelts when driving a car.

Effects of Continuity of Care on Diabetes-Related Avoidable Hospitalizations among Middle- and Old-Aged Patients: Analysis of National Health Insurance Claims Data / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is known as one of the most important ambulatory care sensitive conditions. This study purposed to assess the status of continuity of care (COC) and diabetes-related avoidable hospitalizations (DRAHs) of a group of middle- and old-aged patients and to observe the relationship of the two elements by the two age groups. METHODS: This study utilized the National Health Insurance Service's National Sample Cohort data and the subjects are diabetes patients of 45 and over, classified into two groups of ‘middle-aged’(45–64 years) and ‘old-aged’(≥65 years) patients. The dependent variable was DRAHs, which was defined in accordance with the definition of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development “Health Care Quality Indicators” project. COC, as an independent variable, is measured by the COC index in this study. Two-part model (multi-variate and multi-level analyses) was utilized. RESULTS: Factors associated with the status and the number of DRAHs differed by each age group. Meanwhile, the two-part model showed that higher COC was associated with a lower risk of preventable hospitalizations in both middle- and old-aged groups. CONCLUSION: Study findings can provide health policy insights and implications in order to strengthen the primary care system for further improvement of diabetes management, especially for middle- and old-aged groups.

A Study on the Relationship between the Spatial Cluster Patterns of Male Suicide Rate and the Regional Characteristics in South Korea / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: Since 2003, Korea has consistently shown the highest suicide rate among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, and suicide remains the major cause of death. In particular, men are 2–3 times more likely to commit suicide than women, which called the ‘gender paradox of suicide.’ The areas with frequent suicide have spatially clustered patterns because suicide with a social contagion spreads around the neighborhood. The purpose of this study was twofold. The first was to estimate the hotspot areas of age-standardized male suicide mortality from 2008 to 2015. The second was to analyze the relationship between the hotspot areas and the regional characteristics for study years. METHODS: The data was collected through the Korean Statistical Information Service. The study areas were 227 si · gun · gu administrative districts in Korea. The hotspot area was used as a dependent variable. Socio-demographic variables (number of marriages per 1,000 population, number of divorces per 1,000 population, and urbanization rate), financial variables (financial independence and social security budget), and health behaviors (EuroQol-5 dimension [EQ-5D], and depression experience rate) were used as independents variables. RESULTS: The hotspot areas were commonly located in Gangwon-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Chungceongbuk-do. According to the results of panel logit regression, the number of divorces per 1,000 population, social security budget, and EQ-5D were statistically significant variables. CONCLUSION: The results of hotspot analysis showed the need for establishing a prevention zone of suicide using hotspot areas. Also, medical resources could be considered to be preferentially placed in the prevention zone of suicide. This study could be used as basic data for health policymakers to establish a suicide-related policy.

Household Out-of-Pocket Payments and Trend in Korea / 보건행정학회지

After the announcement of Moon Jae-in Government's plan (Moon's Care) for Benefit Expansion in National Health Insurance in August 2017, it is necessary to monitor the effects of the policy, especially household out-of-pocket payments (OOP). This paper aims to observe the current status and trend of OOP in Korea. Current health expenditure (CHE) was 144.4 trillion won in 2018, which accounts for 8.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) increased 9.7% from the previous year. Although GDP's share of CHE has been close to the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the public fund's share was 59.8% of the total in 2018, which was lower than the OECD average of 73.5%. OOP's share was 32.9% in 2018, which decreased from 37.4% in 2008. The share of OOP of non-covered services was 20.0% in 2018, which decreased from 22.9% in 2008. The share of cost-sharing with third-party payers was 12.9% in 2018, which decreased from 14.5% in 2008. The OOP of non-covered services was significantly decreased in hospital and inpatient curative care, but the OOP of non-covered services was significantly increased in the medical clinic. The effect of Moon's Care was not showed in OOP through the results of 2017 and 2018, but further monitoring is needed because the Moon's Care is progressing and the observational period is short.

Designing the Sickness Benefit Scheme in South Korea: Using the Implication from Schemes of Advanced Nations / 보건행정학회지

Currently, the South Korean Government does not provide sickness benefits from the National Health Insurance, which is different from most other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The sickness benefit guarantees a part of lost income due to injuries or diseases. The purpose of this study is to propose a sickness benefit scheme for South Korea. To this end, we compare health care systems, sickness benefit schemes, and delivery systems of those in Germany, Japan, and Sweden, focusing on the seven categories: management authority, object, level of payment, duration of payment, qualification requirements, connection with paid sick leave of workplace, and financial resources, and as to delivery system, the six categories: the number of procedures, transferring document between institutions, whether or not utilizing electronic reporting system, applicant, and administrative convenience. Based on the implications derived from the case study, we propose the sickness benefit scheme and its delivery pathway and other details for South Korea. This study is first to propose the sickness benefit for health insurance in Korea with its level of details. More studies should follow with case studies of other countries, as well as productive debates to build a feasible and sustainable sickness benefit system in South Korea.

2018 Current Health Expenditures and National Health Accounts in Korea / 보건행정학회지

This paper aims to demonstrate current health expenditure (CHE) and National Health Accounts of the years 2018 constructed according to the SHA2011, which is a manual for System of Health Accounts (SHA) that was published jointly by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Eurostat, and World Health Organization in 2011. Comparison is made with international trends by collecting and analyzing health accounts of OECD member countries. Particularly, scale and trends of the total CHE financing as well as public-private mix are parsed in depth. In the case of private financing, estimation of total expenditures for (revenues by) provider groups (HP) is made from both survey on the benefit coverage rate of National Health Insurance (by National Health Insurance Service) and Economic Census and Service Industry Census (by National Statistical Office); and other pieces of information from Korean Health Panel Study, etc. are supplementarily used to allocate those totals into functional classifications. CHE was 144.4 trillion won in 2018, which accounts for 8.1% of Korea's gross domestic product (GDP). It was a big increase of 12.8 trillion won, or 9.7%, from the previous year. GDP share of Korean CHE has already been close to the average of OECD member countries. Government and compulsory schemes' share (or public share), 59.8% of the CHE in 2018, is much lower than the OECD average of 73.6%. ‘Transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of total revenue of health financing was 16.9% in Korea, lower than the other social insurance countries. When it comes to ‘compulsory contributory health financing schemes,’ ‘transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of 13.5% was again much lower compared to Japan (43.0%) and Belgium (30.1%) with social insurance scheme.

Position Value for Relative Comparison of Healthcare Status of Korea in 2016 / 보건행정학회지

This study investigated the healthcare status of South Korea and member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). By employing the position value for relative comparison index, healthcare status was measured through the following components: demand, supply, accessibility, quality, and cost. Statistical analysis was conducted through the Mann-Kendall test from analyzing trends from 2000 onwards. Results showed that while Korea, on average, scores higher than the OECD average in most of the investigated components, it is below average in certain indexes including primary care and mental health care. Considering the various health issues that have been raised about these indexes, it is important these components be improved upon by policy-makers.

Systemic Therapy for Advanced and Metastatic Colon Cancer / 대한소화기학회지

Colon cancer is one of the three most common cancers in both men and women in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Approximately one-quarter of colon cancer patients have a metastasis at the time of diagnosis, and systemic therapy is used in many of them as a first line therapy. In addition to existing cytotoxic drugs, target therapy has been introduced in colon cancer and immunotherapy has shown clinical benefits in the treatment of metastatic colon cancer. The purpose of this review was to briefly summarize the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for systemic therapy in colon cancer with special reference to targeted agents and novel agents.

Risks of Completed Suicide of Community Individuals with ICD-10 Disorders Across Age Groups: A Nationwide Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study in South Korea

OBJECTIVE: Suicide is the leading cause of death in 10–39-year-olds in South Korea, and the second highest rate among the OECD countries. However, few studies have investigated the particularity of completed suicide in South Korea. METHODS: Study subjects consisted of 2,838 suicide cases and 56,758 age and sex matched living controls from a national representative sample of 1,025,340 South Koreans. They were obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) with follow-up up to 12 years. We obtained information on primary diagnosis of any ICD-10 disorder along with suicide cases during their lifetime. RESULTS: Among ICD-10 disorders, depression was the most common disorder (19.10%, n=542), found in victims of completed suicides except for common medical disorders such as hypertensive crisis, respiratory tract infection or arthropathies. After adjusting for sex, age, economic status, disability, and disorders, schizophrenia showed the strongest association with suicide (AOR: 28.56, 95% CI: 19.58–41.66) among all ICD-10 disorders, followed by psoriasis, multiple body injury, epilepsy, sleep disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder. For age groups, ≤19 years was associated with anxiety disorder (AOR=80.65, 95% CI: 13.33–487.93), 20–34 years with epilepsy (AOR=134.92, 95% CI: 33.69–540.37), both 35–49 years (AOR=108.57, 95% CI: 37.17–317.09) and 50–65 years (AOR=189.41 95% CI: 26.59–1349.31), with schizophrenia, and >65 years (AOR=44.7, 95% CI: 8.93–223.63) with psoriasis. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric and physical disorders carried greatly increased risks and numbers of suicides in South Korea. Schizophrenia was the strongest risk factor, especially 35–65 years, and depression was the most common in suicide victims among ICD-10 disorders in South Korea.

Design and Methods of the Korean National Investigations of 70,000 Suicide Victims Through Police Records (The KNIGHTS Study)

OBJECTIVE: The suicide rate in South Korea was the second highest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in 2017. The purpose of this study is to understand the characteristics of people who died by suicide in Korea from 2013–2017 and to better prevent suicide. METHODS: This study was performed by the Korea Psychological Autopsy Center (KPAC), an affiliate of the Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare. According to the Korea National Statistical Office, the number of suicide victims nationwide was estimated to reach about 70,000 from 2013 to 2017. Comprehensive suicide records from all 254 police stations in South Korea were evaluated by 32 investigators who completed a 14-day didactic training program. Then, we evaluated the characteristics of suicide victims in association with disease data from the National Health Insurance Database (NHID), which is anonymously linked to personal information of suicide victims. RESULTS: Thirty-one of 254 police stations in the Seoul metropolitan area were analyzed by August 10, 2018. Findings showed that the characteristics of suicide victims differed according to the nature of the region. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that different strategies and methods are needed to prevent suicide by regional groups.

O Welfare State resiste? Desenvolvimentos recentes do estado social nos países da OCDE / Is the Welfare State resisting? Recent developments of the social state in OECD countries

Resumo Neste artigo buscamos analisar alguns dos principais indicadores da evolução do estado de bem-estar social em países da OCDE entre 1980 e 2016. Em particular, buscamos avaliar se a crise iniciada em 2007-2008 teria implicado em contração do estado social. Nossa análise se desdobra no estudo do comportamento de três dimensões: o gasto social, seu financiamento tributário e sua efetividade. Nossa investigação revela que o século XXI tem sido um período de expansão, com gastos crescentes e "catch up" de países retardatários. Em particular, todas as grandes áreas de política social sofreram aumentos, ao lado de apostas ainda incipientes em políticas sociais "ativas". O gasto social tem sido financiado por um esforço tributário crescente, não de todo indiferente à progressividade, e tem se traduzido em crescente esforço de redistribuição. Contudo, desigualdades e pobreza avançam em ritmo superior.

Abstract In this paper an attempt was made to analyze some of the main indicators of the evolution of the welfare state in OECD countries between 1980 and 2016. In particular, an assessment was made to evaluate if the so-called Great Recession starting in 2008 led to a contraction of the social state. The analysis focused on three dimensions: social expenditure, funding, and effectiveness. The conclusion drawn was that the twenty-first century has been a period of expansion, both in terms of social expenditure and the catch-up of the latecomers. In particular, all traditional areas of social policy have expanded in tandem with a slight increase in "active" social policies. The rise in social expenditure has been financed by increasing taxation not thoroughly alien to progressivity principles. Overall, it has been translated into an increased effort for redistribution. However, inequality and poverty are advancing at a higher rate.

Key Issues on Long-Term Care Hospitals in Korea / 보건행정학회지

This study reviews the advent of long-term care (LTC) hospitals and its key issues in Korea. For analysis, enforcement ordinances and enforcement rules related to LTC hospitals were reviewed. Official statistic data were used for quantitative analysis and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data were utilized for comparative analysis. Various references and expert interviews were conducted for status analysis. As of 2016, the number of LTC hospitals was 1,386 and the number of beds were 246,373. It showed the trend of increasing medical care costs and the cost of care at LTC hospitals increasing from 998.8 billion Korean won in 2008 to 4,745.6 billion Korean won in 2016, accounting for 7.3% of the total National Health Insurance expenditure. From the societal perspective, several issues were pointed out within the current health care system related to LTC hospitals: establishment of roles, concerns about the increase in medical expenses, and the quality of medical personnel.