• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.425-434
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to introduce the establishment process and results of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's road map on environmental health policy. Methods: The process consisted of expert group meetings, civic participation, research, and questionnaire survey for priority environmental health policy agenda items in Seoul. Results: The announced vision for the environmental health policy was "a healthy environment, safety in Seoul". This policy was established in order to define environment health policy initiatives for a period of five years with an aim to protect Seoul citizens' health from hazardous environmental factors. The resulting Seoul environmental health policy consisted of four areas and 16 key agenda items. The four areas were "Protection for children against hazardous materials", "Enhancement of health and safety of all", "Carcinogen-free and endocrine-disrupting chemical-free Seoul (reducing environmental exposure to hazardous materials), and "Establish the foundation of environmental health policy". Sixteen key agenda items include the enhancement of management of spaces for children, certification of environmental health status at schools, establishment of a unit responsible for the environmental health of children, strengthening environmental health management for susceptible populations (children, the aged, and the socioeconomically vulnerable), management of hazardous materials, physical hazardous factors (noise, radiation, etc.), indoor air quality, and the enhancement of monitoring, research, and regulation of environment health. Conclusion: The Seoul Metropolitan Government established an environmental health policy road map for a five-year period (2013-2017). To implement this environmental health policy, budget allocation, and detailed execution plans are required.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.145-147
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• 2021

The ethical environment in academic research is rapidly changing at a global level. Further, social expectations and public interest toward research ethics are also escalating in Korea. Understanding and applying ethical issues in academic research has become increasingly important. To conform to such changes in the ethical environment, the official journal of the Korean Academy of Health Policy and Management has been consistently establishing and modifying rules and principles regarding research ethics. For instance, we amended the submission guidelines to further address the policies for gendered innovations. For this editorial of the current issue, we would like to organize and share several ethical concerns, which recently gained considerable attention. We hope this review provides scholars with practical guidelines to comprehend and incorporate critical ethical issues into academic research.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.263-271
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• 2018

Health technology assessment (HTA) is defined as multidisciplinary policy analysis to look into the medical, economic, social, and ethical implications of the development, distribution, and use of health technology. Following the recent changes in the social environment, there are increasing needs to improve Korea's healthcare environment by, inter alia, assessing health technologies in an organized, timely manner in accordance with the government's strategies to ensure that citizens' medical expenses are kept at a stable level. Dedicated to HTA and research, the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency (NECA) analyzes and provides grounds on the clinical safety, efficacy, and economic feasibility of health technologies. HTA offers the most suitable grounds for decision making not only by healthcare professionals but also by policy makers and citizens as seen in a case in 2009 where research revealed that glucosamine lacked preventive and treatment effects for osteoarthritis and glucosamine was subsequently excluded from the National Health Insurance's benefit list to stop the insurance scheme from suffering financial losses and citizens from paying unnecessary medical expenses. For the development of HTA in Korea, the NECA will continue exerting itself to accomplish its mission of providing policy support by health technology reassessment, promoting the establishment and use of big data and HTA platforms for public interest, and developing a new value-based HTA system.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.127-154
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• 2006

It has been widely accepted that the environment is an important determining factor of human health. Appreciating the relationship between the environment and human health, Korean government has begun to deal with issues of environmental health. The government proclaimed the year of 2006 to be the first year of Environmental Health and established "The Environmental Health Plan for the next 10 Year". In order to achieve the goals in the plan, there are necessary considerations such as support systems for environment health related research, investigation, law, institution, administration, and so forth. This study suggests basic principles required to establish a legal regime of environmental health which is to implement the environmental health policies in Korea. Several cases of foreign legislation and policy relevant to environmental health are reviewed. Also, existing related legal system in Korea are analysed considering legal and institutional elements for establishing an effective environmental health policy. The main purpose of amending legal system related environmental health is to protect both public health and the soundness of ecosystem. To reach the goals effectively, the concept of 'environmental health' should be clearly established and presented. In addition, an advanced prevention system, including investigation and prevention of the cause of environmental diseases and risk assessment based on the precautionary principle, are substantial in the environmental health legislation. Also the environmental health law should guarantee public participation in decision making as well as the first consideration of susceptible or vulnerable population. This study concludes that the expected legislation related to environmental health should be a nonnative instrument not only for integrating each environmental protection scheme but also for establishing and implementing the policy.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.129-151
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• 2001

This study was conducted to describe trends of health services research (HSR) in Korea since 1968 and analyse the relevance of HSR to changes in health policy. Research methods are as follows: firstly, HSR articles were selected from 4 HSR related journals implicitly. Secondly, classification system of HSR was developed and then applied to previously selected papers in order to describe research trends. Finally, the frequency rankings of articles in research areas were compared with rankings in order of the importance of research area rated by experts. As a resesult, HSR articles have increased with time and three main research areas are health programme, health care financing, and health care organization/management. And many articles have been related to the efficiency and quality of health care since 1990. It seems HSR articles had little relevance to changes in health policy and policy environment. Especially, the recently disputed policy topic, namely the separation of prescription from disposing, has not received little attention since 1990. These findings suggest there is an urgent need for the reflection on HSR direction in Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.94-124
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• 2007

This paper critically reviews three decades of research on geographic variations. in health services utilization in the United States, thereby drawing policy and research implications for Korea. The recent renewed interest in variations research in the United States, precipitated by studies on regional variations in Medicare expenditures, stems mainly from the policy implication that a substantial amount of Medicare expenditures could be saved without compromising quality and access. From the research perspective, this policy implication was made tenable by integrating micro- and macro-level analysis of variations in health services utilization. Still, theoretical limitations inherent in the research pose great challenges to developing effective strategies at the health system level. Variations research in the United States can serve as a case study as to how health services research has responded to efficiency and quality issues in an ever expanding health system Considering the current health policy and research environment in Korea, the following implications can be drawn. Variations research will help formulate a national policy agenda for health care quality and also advance the framework of approaches to health policy issues. For such purposes, both relevant descriptive and hypothesis-testing studies are needed. Further advancement in variations research will require interdisciplinary explorations and methodological sophistication. To the extent that Korean health policies will strive to achieve complex goals, variations research will increasingly prove to be useful.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.247-257
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• 2022

The presidential election and the inauguration of the new government are a period of the policy window opening. The newly launched government is expected to improve the quality of life of the people. The Yoon Suk-yeol Government is also launched with new expectations with a transitional period in health care. The sustainability of health care in Korea is threatened. The environment of health care and the main policy issues of health care are difficult to secure the necessary finance for health care in spite of the increasing health care burden. Accordingly, the Yoon Suk-yeol Government's health care policy aims to provide intensive support to those in need of health and welfare and to improve the health of the people through investment in health. And for integrating fragmented health care and welfare services and creating people-centered community-based health care, a health care innovation center will be established for the evaluation platform of new delivery and payment systems, a health care development plan will be established for the blueprint of health care, and reorganizing the central & local government should be reviewed. Although we are facing unfavorable situations such as the distribution of the National Assembly, inflation, and the possibility of economic recession, we expect that announced health care policies will be implemented, recognizing that health care innovation is the only way to improve health care sustainability.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.30 no.sup
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• pp.3.1-3.11
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• 2015

Objectives This study presents the indicators and proxy variables for the quantitative assessment of green chemistry technologies and evaluates the relative importance of each assessment element by consulting experts from the fields of ecology, chemistry, safety, and public health. Methods The results collected were subjected to an analytic hierarchy process to obtain the weights of the indicators and the proxy variables. Results These weights may prove useful in avoiding having to resort to qualitative means in absence of weights between indicators when integrating the results of quantitative assessment by indicator. Conclusions This study points to the limitations of current quantitative assessment techniques for green chemistry technologies and seeks to present the future direction for quantitative assessment of green chemistry technologies.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.17-34
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• 2011

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to describe comprehensive health promotion policies for university students in Korea and to discuss the implications based on the socio-ecological approaches. Methods: A web-based search was performed to identify empirical programs and literature to develop health promotion policies and strategies in university settings. Results: Five domains for policy development are suggested for comprehensive health promotion policies in universities: evidence-based policy development; establishment of supportive policy through network and partnership; infrastructure of university; systems approach with education, environment, enforcement and policy tailored for universities; and sustainability for policy implementation. Conclusions: For healthy universities and students, government, community, health professionals, organizations and universities are all responsible as main agents for the five domains suggested in this study. Multi-level approaches with political, organizational and environmental changes should be sustained as an ongoing process.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 1991

Since it was found out that the degree of medical contribution to health was timid. the direction of health policy studies has been focused on the personal health behavior. Participation in health has been closely related to the behavior. Those who have insisted on the new direction believe that the health policy laying stress on low cost and personal responsibility can avoid the pathology of medical policy and medical crisis. Participation in health has been very important method of changing health behaviors. It is certainly important to change bad health behaviors. But there is no deliberation of social structure here. Most health behaviors are the adaptation to social structure. The attempt to change the established adaptation behaviors without considering social structure is difficult to succeed. It is little meaningful to say the importance of the health behavior to those who have no choice but to be ill due to the poor environment and health risks. What can guarantee the real direction of community participation at least is the consciousness and behaviors of people's right.