• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was conducted to estimate the socioeconomic cost of injuries in South Korea. Methods : We matched claims data from national health insurance, automobile insurance and industrial accident compensation insurance(IACI), and mortality data obtained from the national statistical office from 2001 to 2003 by patients unique identifier. Socioeconomic cost included both direct cost and indirect cost: the direct cost was injury-related medical expenditure and the indirect cost included loss of productivity due to healthcare utilization and premature death. Results : The socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea was approximately 1.9% of the GDP from 2001 to 2003. That is, 12.1 trillion KRW(Korean Won) in 2001, 12.3 trillion KRW in 2002, and 13.7 trillion KRW in 2003. In 2003, direct medical costs were 24.6%(3.4 trillion KRW), the costs for loss of productivity by healthcare utilization were 13.0%(1.8 trillion KRW), and the costs for loss of productivity by premature death were 62.4%(8.6 trillion KRW). Conclusions : In this study, the socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea between 2001 and 2003 was estimated by using not only health insurance claims data, but also automobile insurance, IACI claims and mortality data. We conclude that social efforts are required to reduce the socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea, which represented approximately 1.9% of the GDP for the time period specified.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.499-504
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• 2006

Objectives : The aim of the study was to estimate the annual socioeconomic cost of diseases in Korea. Methods : We estimate both the direct and indirect costs of diseases in Korea during 2003 using a prevalence-based approach. The direct cost estimates included medical expenditures, traffic costs and caregiver's cost, and the indirect costs, representing the loss of production, included lost workdays due to illness and lost earnings due to premature death, which were estimated based on the human capital theory. The cost estimates were reported at three different discount rates (0, 3 and 5%). Results : The cost of diseases in Korea during 2003 was 38.4 trillion won based on 0% discount rate. This estimate represents approximately 5.3% of GDP The direct and indirect costs were estimated to be 22.5 trillion (58.5% of total cost) and 15.9 trillion won (41.5%), respectively. It was also found that the cost for those aged $40\sim49$ accounted for the largest proportion (21.7%) in relation to age groups. The cost of diseases for males was 23.5% higher than that for females. For major diseases, the total socioeconomic costs were 16.0, 13.4, 11.3 and 11.19% for neoplasms, and diseases of the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems, respectively. Conclusions : This study can be expected to provide valuable information for determining intervention and funding priorities, and for planning health policies.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.352-361
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• 2010

Objectives: This study estimated the annual socioeconomic costs of food-borne disease in 2008 from a societal perspective and using a cost-of-illness method. Methods: Our model employed a comprehensive set of diagnostic disease codes to define food-borne diseases with using the Korea National Health Insurance (KNHI) reimbursement data. This study classified the food borne illness as three types of symptoms according to the severity of the illness: mild, moderate, severe. In addition to the traditional method of assessing the cost-of-illness, the study included measures to account for the lost quality of life. We estimated the cost of the lost quality of life using quality-adjusted life years and a visual analog scale. The direct cost included medical and medication costs, and the non-medical costs included transportation costs, caregiver's cost and administration costs. The lost productivity costs included lost workdays due to illness and lost earnings due to premature death. Results: The study found the estimated annual socioeconomic costs of food-borne disease in 2008 were 954.9 billion won (735.3 billion won-996.9 billion won). The medical cost was 73.4 -76.8% of the cost, the lost productivity cost was 22.6% and the cost of the lost quality of life was 26.0%. Conclusions: Most of the cost-of-illness studies are known to have underestimated the actual socioeconomic costs of the subjects, and these studies excluded many important social costs, such as the value of pain, suffering and functional disability. The study addressed the uncertainty related to estimating the socioeconomic costs of food-borne disease as well as the updated cost estimates. Our estimates could contribute to develop and evaluate policies for food-borne disease.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.259-289
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• 2023

This study analyzed farmers' and experts' perceptions of the Agricultural Income Survey (AIS) conducted by the Rural Development Administration and estimated its socioeconomic value. The research surveyed 104 farmers in Gyeongsangbuk-do and Jeollanam-do. To estimate the AIS's socioeconomic value, this study examined public information projects in the field of agriculture and public information, proposing an estimation methodology based on prior research. The socioeconomic value of the AIS was calculated in three stages (information generation, collection and analysis, and utilization) using the replacement cost and contingent valuation methods. In 2020, the estimated socioeconomic value of the AIS ranged from a minimum of KRW 631.2 billion to a maximum of KRW 799.1 billion per year. To improve the socioeconomic value of the AIS, it is important to booster awareness, expand sample sizes for more reliable data, increase manpower and budget, refine survey questions, and enhance analyzing capabilities. And it's crucial to foster cooperation with surveyed farms, promote collaboration among investigative agencies, improve investigator skills, and strengthen management capabilities to facilitate information dissemination.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.9-33
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• 2017

This study estimated the socioeconomic costs of child poverty. Based on previous studies, the present study organized component categories for direct and indirect costs of child poverty, and estimated the cost of each category in 2015 through the collection of existing data and Delphi survey techniques among experts. The total socioeconomic costs of child poverty were compared to Korea's GDP. The results of this study were as follows. First, the socioeconomic costs of child poverty in Korea in 2015 ranged from 55 trillion KW(3.5% of GDP) to 99 trillion KW(6.5% of GDP). Second, the indirect socioeconomic costs of child poverty are much higher than the direct costs. Third, among the total cost categories, costs related to productivity loss and unemployment accounted for the largest portion of both the socioeconomic costs based upon absolute poverty and relative poverty. Crime costs are the second largest. Based on these results, we discussed the importance of early intervention for children in poverty; implementation of two-generation program that intervenes simultaneously with parents and children; and long-term, continuous and integrated intervention for high-risk groups such as poor children.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.101-130
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• 2023

The increasing cost, and demand for, household energy has increased attention to the phenomena of energy burdens. Despite this increased attention, a lack of consensus remains in pinpointing the strongest predictors, and geographic differences, that exist within the energy ecosystem. This study addresses this gap by utilizing a series of dummy variable regressions across cities, suburbs, and rural areas within Erie County, New York-a county noted to have particularly high energy burdens. Specifically, three types of predictor sets were incorporated into the methodology: a set of socioeconomic variables, physical variables, and a combination of both variable sets. The results of this study suggest that cities tend to have the highest electricity burdens. Despite the aging infrastructure in Erie County, high energy burdens were driven primarily by socioeconomic factors such as housing cost burden and poverty status. Lastly, this study explores various planning and policy implications Erie County can utilize to reduce energy burdens. In turn, this study highlights the importance of focusing policy efforts on existing social service programs to provide support to the region's neediest households.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.475-480
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• 2023

Objectives: This study examined differences in health care spending and characteristics among older adults in Korea by high-cost status (persistently, transiently, and never high-cost). Methods: We identified 1 364 119 older adults using data from the Korean National Insurance Claims Database for 2017-2019. Outcomes included average annual total health care spending and high-cost status for 2017-2019. Linear regression was used to estimate differences in the outcomes while adjusting for individual-level characteristics. Results: Persistently and transiently high-cost older adults had higher health care spending than never high-cost older adults, but the difference in health care spending was greater among persistently high-cost older adults than among transiently high-cost older adults (US$20 437 vs. 5486). Despite demographic and socioeconomic differences between transiently high-cost and never high-cost older adults, the presence of comorbid conditions remained the most significant factor. However, there were no or small differences in the prevalence of comorbid conditions between persistently high-cost and transiently high-cost older adults. Rather, notable differences were observed in socioeconomic status, including disability and receipt of Medical Aid. Conclusions: Medical risk factors contribute to high health care spending to some extent, but social risk factors may be a source of persistent high-cost status among older adults in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.187-195
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• 1995

The objectives of this study were 1) to find the value and stress for the house work in the kitchen, 2) to predict the demand for the kichen furniture according to socioeconomic classes of Seoul residents. Questionnaires were administered to 1940 homemakers in Seoul The major findings were as follows : There were significant differences in demand for kitchen furniture according to socioeconomic slasses. The upper-lower class residents preferred a higher cost furniture of U shaped work center The middle - middle class residents wanted the free standing type furniture of L shaped or kitchenette type. The middle-lower class residents preferred a lower cost furniture of U shaped or kitchenette type.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
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• no.53
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• pp.25-50
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• 2016

For child abuse prevention in Korea, this study estimated the socioeconomic costs of child abuse. Based on previous studies, the present study organized component categories for estimable direct and indirect costs of child abuse, and estimated the cost of each category in 2014 through the collection of existing data and through Delphi survey techniques among experts. The total socioeconomic costs of child abuse were compared to Korea's GDP. The results of this study were as follows. First, the socioeconomic costs of child abuse in Korea in 2014 ranged from 389.9 billion KW(0.03 percent compared to GDP) to 76 trillion KW(5.1 percent compared to GDP). Second, the indirect socioeconomic costs of child abuse are much higher than the direct costs. Third, costs related to productivity loss and unemployment accounted for the largest proportion of the total costs. In addition, the proportion of the child protection budget in Korea was very low compared to developed countries. These findings suggest that there is a need to increase Korea's child protection budget and to take urgent action to detect unrevealed child abuse cases. Furthermore, in order to reduce indirect costs, it is important to provide abused children with early professional treatment.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.72-82
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was conducted to estimate the annual socioeconomic costs of menopausal syndrome treated with oriental medicine in Korea 2008. Methods: Study subjects selected were patients aged 40 years or older who had national health insurance(NHI) claims record with menopausal syndrome(KCDO codes: K04, K04.0, K04.2, K04.3, K04.4) for oriental medicine treatment in 2008. Direct medical cost of oriental medicine treatment for menopausal syndrome were measured from NHI claims records. Direct non-medical costs were estimated as transportation costs incurred when visiting hospitals. Indirect costs were defined as patients' productivity loss associated with office visits or hospitalization. Also, the costs of unpaid-household chores were calculated. Results: The total cost for the oriental medicine treatment of menopausal syndrome in the nation was estimated to be 743,091,219 Korean won(KRW) which included direct costs at 442,971,637 KRW and indirect costs at 300,119,583 KRW. Conclusion: This study provides an important perspective of socioecnomic influence due to menopausal syndrome treated with oriental medicine. And this results can be used as elementary data for menopausal syndrome-related health policy of oriental medicine.