KIHASA has released the KCI-listed Health and Social Welfare Review, Vol. 44, No. 1. This issue carries 19 peer-reviewed articles and an editorial by Dr. Bae, Jae-Yong, Head of the Center for Health Care Research at KIHASA titled "Essential Health Care Should be Strengthened along with Public Health Care."

Summary of the EDITORIAL: Essential Health Care Should be Strengthened along with Public Health Care

Strengthening essential healthcare has been a major goal of Korea's health policy, and continous efforts have been made in this direction. Despite these efforts, however, the inadequate and unbalanced provision of essential and emergency healthcare has recently been highlighted as a major social problem.

A series of measures employed by the current government to strengthen essential healthcare have been designed with a rather limited definition of essential healthcare, which includes only critical, emergency, pediatric, and childbirth care. However, this limited scope constitutes only part of the broader essential healthcare as defined in the previous essential healthcare policy. Thus, rather than limiting the scope of essential healthcare policy to strengthening the provision of critical care, which is of course a critical initiative at the moment, there needs to be a measure to expand the scope.

In order to expand the scope of essential healthcare and formulate policies that cover the expanded scope, it is necessary to clarify the definition of essential healthcare. In addition to clarifying the defitnion and scope of essential healthcare, it is also necessary to clarify the definition and scope of public health in Kroea's health system and health policy, which are currently vague in some respects.

The current government's focus on strengthening the provision of critical care as an essential healthcare policy is motivated by the need to solve urgent problems, and this will be the starting point for strengthening essential healthcare. However, this short-term policy should go hand in hand with a mid-to long-term perspective that leads to efforts to expand and strengthen essential healthcare, and should be implemented together with policies to enhance the publicness of healthcare and expand public health.

Article I: "The Effect of Usual Source of Care (USOC) on Health Care Utilization in Korea," Lim, Youna & Lee, Tae-jin, Seoul National University

This study examines the effect of having a Usual Source of Care (USOC) on healthcare utilization and expenditure concerning strengthening primary care. This study constructed a balanced panel of adults aged 20 and above who continuously participated in additional surveys related to USOC, using Korea Health Panel Survey data for the years 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2018. This study employed a panel regression model with fixed effects to control for unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity. The results showed that adults with USOC were less likely to spend medical expenses than those without USOC. Moreover, those with USOC also showed lower health expenditures among patients with hypertension and diabetes. The findings, suggest that having a USOC is associated with lower medical expenses and less hospitalization. The study provides empirical evidence on the effect of USOC on healthcare utilization and finds the potential for change in health expenditure with the introduction of USOC.

Article II: "Total Societal Cost of Food Poisoning Patients," Jin, Hyunjoung, Chung-Ang University; Kim, Yesol, Kora Creative Content Agency; and Choi, Sunghee, CHEM.I.NET.Co

This study estimated the total annual societal cost of food poisoning patients using the Cost of Illness (COI) approach. We estimated direct costs, such as medical expenses, transportation, and formal caregiving costs, and indirect costs, including those associated with premature mortality, lost productivity, lost leisure, and reduced quality of life and pain. The results show that the combined annual total direct and indirect costs for outpatients and inpatients averaged 16,308 billion KRW from 2016 to 2018. The indirect cost of family informal caregiving was an average of 73.8 billion KRW, and the total cost of mild-symptom cases― those experiencing symptoms of food poisoning without needing physician’s treatments whose costs are mostly due to over-the-counter medications―was 32.2 billion KRW on average over three years. Consequently, the average total social cost attributed to food poisoning was 1,663.1 billion KRW, equivalent to 0.09% of GDP and 0.41% of the total government expenditure for the same period. This research distinguishes itself from previous studies by estimating various direct and indirect costs for outpatients, inpatients, and mild-symptom cases, including their medical expenses, costs associated with leisure loss, and costs related to reduced quality of life and pain. The findings of this study are expected to offer valuable insights for prompt and objective risk assessment when making decisions for food safety management within both governmental and food-industrial contexts.

Article III: "The Role of Social Capital in the Health Check-Up Service Utilization in China," Liu, Chang & Cho, Insook, Yonsei University

Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study examines the relationship between social capital and the utilization of health check-up services among middle-aged and elderly individuals in China. To address potential biases arising from interdependence within the same community, this study employs a multilevel logistic regression model. The empirical results provide strong evidence that an individual’s social capital significantly enhances the likelihood of accessing health check-up services among this demographic. The study highlights two key aspects. First, individuals with robust social networks providing financial or care support are more likely to participate in health check-up services. Second, individuals engaged in social activities are more inclined to utilize health check-up services compared to those isolated from their families or communities. This suggests that individuals with strong social capital are more likely to seek preventive healthcare services, potentially reducing the risk of hospitalization and improving their overall quality of life. In addition, this study uncovers disparities in the utilization of health check-up services between urban and rural areas. This discrepancy emphasizes the necessity for specific public health initiatives in China.

Article IV: "An Empirical Study on the Differences and Discrimination in Gender Pension Gap," Han, Gyeo Re, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs

This study empirically examines whether the gender pension gap in the National Pension System stems from ‘difference’ in the attributes of men and women or from unequal structural ‘discrimination’ in the labor market and family. To this end, OLS estimation and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis were conducted on old-age pension recipients using KReIS 8th data. The analysis attributed about 53% of the gender pension gap to differences in attributes between men and women, and about 47% to structural discrimination that is not explained by individual, gender, and labor market characteristics. A remarkable result was that ‘with or without children’ accounted for the highest proportion of discrimination in the gender pension gap, which clearly suggests that the burden of care passed on to women is reproducing the gap in retirement income security. These results show that the labor market is still unevenly gendered, and that the gender-based role division within the family is such that most family care responsibilities are transferred to women. Therefore, simplistic measures such as accumulating human capital, promoting women's employment, and increasing pension coverage and benefit levels will only marginally reduce the gender pension gap. Accordingly, there is a need for long-term efforts to eradicate deep-rooted discrimination in the labor market and family. As a more immediate measure, a new care credit system can be considered to formally recognize the social value of family care.

Article V: "A Study on the Application and Evaluation of Personal Budgets for Disabled People: Individualized Support Plan Utilizing ICF," Shin, Eunkyoung, Dankook University & Lee, Hanna, KIHASA

The current government is promoting the introduction of the Personal Budgets Scheme for disabled people as a national task. Individual needs assessment and the subsequent development of self-directed support plans are essential elements of Personal Budgets. However, the current official assessment and support planning elements are inadequate to realize these objectives. This study aims to provide tools applicable to the development of individualized support plans to achieve the principles of Personal Budgets. To do so, we examined the tools used in determining eligibility for public disability support services in Korea and compared them with tools employed in countries that have implemented the Personal Budget Schemes. Furthermore, we presented a case example using the ICF framework, which can encompass needs assessment, support plan development, and service support monitoring. This showed that the framework of case studies could be represented as an evaluation table to quantify interdisciplinary interventions, changes in case individuals, and the establishment of local community networks. As future research tasks, we proposed the development of elements and procedures that can enhance self-direction and the objectification of assessment tools to ensure fair resource allocation.

Article VI: "A Study on the Typology of Mental Health Issues among Disaster Victims and Their Transferring Influential Factors," Jhone, Jinho & Lee, Sungkyu, Soongsil University

The purpose of this study is to classify latent subgroups of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety comorbidity among disaster victims and analyze their longitudinal changes. To do this, this study utilized data from the Disaster Victim Life Change Tracking Survey, which was conducted by the National Disaster Safety Research Institute. The study sample consisted of 1,069 disaster victims who participated in the 2nd and 4th waves of the survey. First, two years after the disaster, mental health latent subgroups among disaster victims were classified into three groups (the general, at-risk, and high-risk groups). Second, four years after the disaster, mental health latent subgroups among disaster victims were categorized into two groups (the general group and the at-risk group). Third, the probability of transitioning from the general group in the second year to the at-risk group in the fourth year was 10%, while disaster victims in the at-risk and high-risk groups in the second year had probabilities of transitioning to the at-risk group in the fourth year of 41.7% and 60.8%, respectively. Fourth, for those in the general group in the second year, the probability of remaining in the general group in the fourth year was higher when the disaster was a natural disaster, income was higher, and resilience was greater compared to transitioning to the at-risk group. Fifth, regarding victims in the high-risk group in the second year, as their age increased, the probability of transitioning to the at-risk group in the fourth year was higher than remaining in the general group. Based on these results, this study discussed practical and policy implications for interventions dealing with the comorbidity of mental health issues among disaster victims.

Article VII: "Analysis of the Predictors for General Anxiety Level of Adolescents Based on a Decision Tree Model," Lee, Sangmi, Dongyang University

This study was conducted to identify the predictive factors of generalized anxiety levels in adolescents using data from 51,850 middle and high school students from the 18th (2022) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (KYRBS) of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The data was analyzed by a decision tree model using SPSS 26.0. Our analysis revealed several findings. First, the group with the highest prevalence of general anxiety exhibited the following characteristics: high stress levels, experiences of sadness and despair, negative subjective health perception, inadequate fatigue recovery after sleep, and regular consumption of highcaffeine beverages. Stress emerged as the most significant predictor of anxiety. Third, the experience of sadness and despair was the second most significant variable affecting the prevalence of anxiety in both groups with below-average or high stress. Furthermore, self-rated ‘ill health’ was found to correlate with an increased prevalence of high-level generalized anxiety. This correlation was further analyzed according to subjective health perception and fatigue recovery after sleep, with or without the experience of sadness and despair. In addition, within the group with poor subjective health and insufficient recovery from fatigue after sleep, highlevel anxiety was more prevalent among those consuming high-caffeine beverages more than once a week. General anxiety in adolescents can be predicted by a combination of health cognitive, psycho-emotional, and health behavior factors, including stress, experiences of sadness and despair, subjective health perceptions, fatigue recovery from after sleep, and consumption of high-caffeine beverages. Therefore, these five predictors identified by the decision tree model are crucial considerations for managing high-level general anxiety in adolescents.

Article VIII: "The Impact of Extended Unemployment on Subjective Well-Being among Youth: Mediating Effects of Earnings, Social Capital, and Depression," Kim, DonShik, Kyung Hee University

This study examines how extended unemployment affects the well-being of youth, considering the mediating factors of earnings, social capital, and depression. Using data from the 2022 Youth Life Survey, we found the following. First, extended unemployment, defined as the sum of the timerelated additional employment, official unemployment, and potential labor force, negatively affects subjective well-being through reduced earnings. Second, extended unemployment diminishes social capital, which in turn negatively affects subjective well-being. Third, extended unemployment increases depression among young adults, which negatively affects subjective well-being. Fourth, the magnitude of the indirect effects of extended unemployment was at its smallest when mediated by earnings and at its greatest when mediated by depression, implying that the effects of extended unemployment are more social and psychological than economic. Fifth, the effects of extended unemployment in terms of average treatment effects on subjective well-being depend on the ordinal ranking of extended unemployment that was categorized from formal employment to potential labor force. We also found that the total effect of extended unemployment decreases in the following order: formal employment, informal employment, time-related additional employment, formal unemployment, and potential labor force. This study provides a new perspective on unemployment research by utilizing the construct of extended unemployment that ranks the degree or intensity of employment into five categories and compares the effects of the differences between the degrees of employment.

Article IX: "The Moderating Effect of Social Support on the Impact of Drinking Frequency on Young Adults' Depression: Analysis of Gender Difference," Jang, Si-On, Mental Health Research Institute, National Center for Mental Health & Kim, Do-Hyun, Yonsei University

Recently in Korean society, there has been an emergence of the 'lowering age of depression risk'. Amid this, drinking is identified as a major factor causing depression, and it has been reported that social support moderates mental health difficulties. Building on previous research that has indicated gender differences in each variable, this study analyzed the impact of young adults' drinking frequency on depression and the moderating effect of social support by gender. The study utilized data from the 'A Survey on the Living Conditions and Welfare Needs of Youths' conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, using SPSS 25.0 and PROCESS macro 3.4 for analysis. The results showed that females exhibited higher levels of depression and social support compared to males. Furthermore, in the relationship between drinking frequency and depression, the moderating effect of social support was statistically significant only for females. Based on these findings, the study emphasized that address the young adults’ drinking and depression problems simultaneously and use social support to solve emotional crisis. Lastly, the study raised the importance of gender-sensitive young adults’ mental health policies.

Article X: "Family Caregiving Burden and Depression among Older Adults," Lee Jin-kyung; Jo, Yongmie; and Chung, Moo-Kwon, Yonsei University Mirae Campus & Park, Ji Young, Sangji University

Given the rapid aging in South Korea, the burden of family caregiving on older adults has increased, leading to heightened risks of depression. Social support can reduce the increased risk of depression, but the moderation effect may vary depending on demographic factors such as gender, age, and residential area types (urban vs. rural). The data from 685 older adults aged 55-85 were analyzed by moderated moderation analysis in multivariate regression models in addition to independent t-tests, ANOVA, and chi-square tests. The results demonstrated that family caregiving burden increased depression, but social support significantly alleviated this association. Notably, the protective effect of social support varied by demographic factors, being particularly significant for women, those in their 50s to 60s, and residents of urban areas. Further investigation is recommended to better understand the observed demographic disparities in the moderation effects of social support. It would be important to tailor public policies for enhancing community care systems by filling the gap between differential needs among older adults and available resources given in their life contexts.

Article XI: "Characteristics of Climate Anxiety in South Korea," Chae Sumi; Kim, Hyeyun; Lee, Subin, KIHASA

Climate change can affect mental health directly and indirectly through extreme weather events and long-term environmental changes. Recently, public interest in climate anxiety has increased as the discussion has broadened to include awareness of climate change affecting mental health. This study conducted an online survey targeting 2,000 adults aged 19-65 to determine the level and characteristics of climate anxiety among Korean adults. The average score of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS) among Korean adults was 1.90 out of 5, which is similar to the level reported in recent studies. In particular, the younger the age, the higher the CCAS score. Climate anxiety was found to have a significant effect on pro-environmental behavior through self-efficacy, confirming that climate anxiety leads to pro-environmental behavior. This suggests that maintaining a moderate level of climate anxiety can positively motivate individuals to become interested in and engage with climate change action. However, if not properly managed, climate anxiety can escalate into a pathological problem, so it is time to explore effective interventions.

Article XII: "Trends in the Utilization of Social Welfare Services by Socioeconomic Group Type in the Elderly," Oh, Youra, Yonsei University

In Korea, the absolute number of the elderly population is rapidly increasing. At the same time, the emergence of diversity and heterogeneity within the elderly group signifies that the needs of the elderly are becoming more diverse and distinct. Accordingly, this study attempts to empirically analyze the use of social welfare services based on group types according to the socio-economic status of the elderly, assuming that usage patterns would differ. To achieve this, this study utilizes data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KoWePS; 2015-2021). Group types based on socioeconomic status among the elderly were derived through latent class model analysis, and medical, long-term care, and welfare services for seven years were calculated for each group type. The usage trend was analyzed using a multi-group growth mixture model. The results of this study reveal differences in the usage of social welfare services among different groups of the elderly. Based on these findings, an evaluation of the current social welfare service system's effectiveness was conducted, and the direction for future improvements was discussed.

Article XIII: "A Study on Terminal Cancer Patients' Experiences regarding Consultation-Based Hospice Palliative Care," Koh, Jumi, KIHASA; Rhee, Chaie-Won, Soongsil University; Han, Hyoung-Suk; Yoo, Shin Hye; Keam, Bhumsuk, Seoul National University Hospital

This study aims to explore the experiences of terminal cancer patients in consultation-based hospice and to understand their main concerns and wishes. Although consultation-based hospice was implemented in 2018 with the introduction of the Life Sustaining Treatment Decision Act, little is known about the actual experiences of patients. A thematic analysis was conducted by interviewing 10 participants in a tertiary hospital based in Seoul. Six main themes emerged from the analysis: perceptions on hospice, state of mind following admission into hospice, positive experiences, negative experiences, inner resources for coping, hopes and expectations. Based on these results, practical implications are discussed.

Article XIV: "Reconstructing the Secondary Health Conditions of Persons with Disabilities: Illness Narrative Analysis," Mun, Yeongmin, Institute of Health and Health Environment, Seoul National University

The primary focus of this study is ‘secondary health conditions’ among individuals with disabilities, characterized by their occurrence several years after the onset of the primary disability. While the conceptualization of these secondary health conditions acknowledges the significance of disability and the passage of time, the discourse predominantly addresses the association with impairment, omitting considerations of environmental constraints and subsequent personal and social changes post-illness. Consequently, the research aims to reconstruct the experiences of secondary health conditions within the illness narrative framework proposed by Bury (2001), drawing insights from the narratives of nine individuals with disabilities. First, the main cause of the secondary health conditions reconstructed by the participants was the stress of disability discrimination, and the timing of discovery and diagnosis was delayed due to the combination of each life history reason and the medical staff's incomprehension of disability. After the onset of secondary health conditions, the participants reconstructed and recovered their daily lives with public support and support from the disability network. In this process, participants developed an awareness that individuals’ health problems are a social concern and attempted to turn the changes they had experienced into social changes. The study concludes by suggesting that medical staff should actively listen to the narratives of patients with disabilities and implement targeted health education and health literacy initiatives for individuals with disabilities.

Article XV: "Influencing Factors on Intent to Leave the Current Employer and Occupation among Elderly Wage Workers," Lee, Jong Hwa & Hwang, Yeong Hyeon, Kangnam University; Cho, Soo chan, Yonsei University

This study investigated factors influencing elderly wage workers’ intentions to leave their jobs, aiming to guide human resource management strategies and employment policy. The study differentiated turnover intentions into leaving the current employer and changing the occupation, with a focus on whether the workers are involved in simple labor. Through a nationwide survey of 503 workers aged 60 and above, using descriptive statistical analysis and Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR), it was found that these workers generally showed low turnover intentions. However, those engaged in simple labor were more inclined to leave their occupation than those in more complex roles. The study also found a significant influence of work meaningfulness and job autonomy on both types of turnover intentions, overshadowing traditional factors like wages. For non-simple labor workers, caregiving responsibilities greatly impacted their decision to leave their current employers. The findings underscore the importance of considering factors beyond wages in recruitment, job design, and policy development for elderly wage workers to improve job retention and satisfaction.

Article XVI: "Analysis of the Medical School Admission Quotas Issue through Systems Thinking," Lee, Kyun Jick, Halllyum University

The aim of this paper is to conduct a dynamic and structural analysis of South Korea’s 2023 medical school admission quotas issue based on systems thinking and explore policy levers to address it. To achieve this, we selectively utilized recent government press releases, policy reports from national research institutions, minutes from policy conferences, policy reports from the medical community, and news articles and reports emphasized by newspapers and media. From January 1 to December 31, 2023, a total of 5,256 articles containing the keyword 'medical school admission quotas' were identified in national daily newspapers, regional daily newspapers, and broadcasts, both in titles and main bodies. The primary research conclusion is that, regarding the issue of expanding medical school admission quotas, the structure confronted by the government and the medical sector is not a state of intentional underachievement by the government. Instead, it is situated in a state of relative achievement achieved by sacrificing other stakeholders. The problem with this structure is that it induces a pattern of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer due to the presence of an unfair competitive relationship. However, this structure is not only present in the relationship between the government and the medical sector but also exists among healthcare institutions within the sector. The more significant issue is that patients and the medical sector are also enmeshed within this structure. This is a direct consequence of the collapse of the delivery system. From a structural perspective, the government needs to shift from a resource-centric view, which predominantly occupies the private sector in the delivery system, to a stakeholder perspective. Furthermore, selfregulation is necessary to break the cycle of vicious behavior. Additionally, the current bottleneck between local governments and universities needs to be addressed as the government, the medical sector, local governments, and universities are interconnected as one comprehensive structure regarding the issue of medical school admission quotas.

Article XVII: "Changes in Parental Leave Policy and Their Relationship with Female Wage Workers' Employment Status," Yi, Jihye, KIHASA & Chin, Meejung, Seoul National University

This study examines the relationship between changes in the parental leave system, pre-childbirth job characteristics, and women's short-term, medium-term, and long-term employment decisions in South Korea. The analysis was conducted using logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression methods, utilizing data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS). The analysis results show that in the short term, regardless of the timing of parental leave system changes, there is a high likelihood of maintaining the original job when using parental leave. However, in the medium to long term, only users of parental leave after the recent changes have a high likelihood of maintaining their original job. Among pre-childbirth job characteristics, the size and type of companies, occupations, and wages show differences in maintaining the original job after childbirth. In particular, wages exhibit some interaction effects with the timing of parental leave.

Article XVIII: "A Study on Classification of Care Burden among Family Caregivers: Focusing on the Families of Long-Term Care Insurance Home Care Recipients," Kim, Minsoo, Institute for Social Science Research, Pusan National University; Lee, Yongho, Pusan National University; and Song, Jieun, Pusan National University

The purpose of this study is to classify latent groups according to the level of care burden on family caregivers and to identify factors affecting this burden, with the aim of suggesting ways to alleviate the care burden of families of home care recipients. We used data from the 2022 Long-Term Care Survey and employed latent profile analysis and the multinomial logit regression method. Two important outcomes emerged from our analysis. First, family caregivers of home care recipients were categorized into ‘high burden’, ‘medium burden’, ‘low-medium burden’, and ‘low burden’ groups. Second, it was confirmed that various factors affect the classification of the care burden depending on the characteristics of the recipients and family caregivers. Based on the main analysis results, this study suggested that there is a need to strengthen support services for family care providers and recognize leave benefits when using the family care leave system to alleviate the burden of care in the daily lives of family care providers.

Article XIX: "Differences in Mental Health according to Employment, Unemployment, and Job Insecurity of Married Women," Choi, Jihee, KIHASA & Lee, Junhyup, Korea University

This study analyzed the mental health effects of employment status and job insecurity on married women. As of the 10th Korea Welfare Panel Study (2014), a binary logistic regression analysis was conducted on women 19 years of age or older who were continuously married and participated in the survey until the 17th panel (2021). In addition, the study categorized subjects into youth, middle-aged, and elderly groups to analyze mental health by age group. Unemployment and unstable employment of elderly married women (56 to 65 years old) negatively affected mental health, but the employment status of younger and middleaged married women (25 to 55 years old) did not significantly affect mental health. Even if both groups were employed at the present time, the group with experience of unemployment had a higher risk of depression than the group without. Also, in the case of unemployment, the group with job search experience reported a lower mental health status than the group without. This suggests the need to consider negative experiences related to employment when understanding the mental health problems of elderly married women, and the results of this study can be used as a basis for policy development for the healthy life and aging of married women.