• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.155-206
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• 2023

When a person with diminished mental capacity refuses necessary medical care, normative judgments about when paternalistic intervention can be justified come into question. A typical example is involuntary hospitalization for people with mental disabilities, traditionally governed by mental health law. However, Korean civil law reform in 2011 introduced a new form of involuntary hospitalization through guardianship legislation, leading to a dualized system to involuntary hospitalization. Consequently, a conflict has arisen between the 'best interest and surrogate decision-making' paradigm of civil law and the 'social defense and preventive detention' paradigm of mental health law. Many countries have criticized this dualized system as not only inefficient but also unfair. Moreover, the requirement for the presence of 'mental illness' for involuntary hospitalization under mental health law has faced criticism for unfairly discriminating against people with mental disabilities. In response, attempts have been made to integrate guardianship legislation and mental health law based on mental capacity. This study examines the legislative process and framework of the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, which reorganized the mental health care system by fusing guardianship legislation with mental health law based on mental capacity. By analyzing the case of Northern Ireland, which has grappled with conflicts between guardianship legislation and mental health law since the 1990s and recently proposed mental capacity as a single, non-discriminatory standard, we aimed to offer insights for the Korean guardianship and mental health systems.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that influencing mental health literacy. Methods : We obtained data on 2016 general population from the Korean Mental Health Literacy Survey (2021) conducted by Ministry of Health and Welfare. Multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and the score of questionnaire items in Korean Mental Health Literacy Survey. Results : Among the factors, female (p<0.001), higher age (p=0.005), higher income level (p<0.001) were significantly correlated with higher score of questionnaire items. Awareness of mental health center & community addiction management center (p=0.002), awareness of mental health hotline service (p<0.001) were also significantly associated with higher response score. Conclusions : The factors affecting mental health literacy could be considered when providing community mental health services.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.596-608
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• 2017

This study was carried out in order to develop and validate the Korean Version of Strengths Scale for individuals with mental illness. The first step taken to develop the scale was to construct sample items for the Strengths Scale using literature research and three focus group interviews of individuals with mental illness. Secondly, two professors of the Social welfare Department of a University and two mental social workers reviewed these sample items to select and compile a final version of the scale. Lastly, the scale's reliability and validity was verified through an empirical study of 478 individuals with mental illness who conduct the survey items. The explanatory factor was that the sample items can be grouped into seven factors. Factor 1 was 'Vocation', Factor 2 was 'Family and Social Support', Factor 3 was 'Optimism', Factor 4 was 'Resources Utilization', Factor 5 was 'Coping Behavior', Factor 6 was 'Leisure', Factor 7 was 'Health'. The Confirmatory analysis showed that the model demonstrated a goodness- of-fit. Finally, the Korean Version of Strengths Scale for individuals with mental illness was developed consisting 40 items and was proposed a mental health social work implications.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.209-279
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• 2016

The Korean Mental Health Act was amended 2016 overall. This paper examines and evaluates the old Korean Mental Health Act since 1995 and the new Korean Mental Health Promotion Act 2016 from the Perspective of Human Rights and Inclusion of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities. The persons with mental disabilities was separated and ruled out from society by the enactment of the Mental Health Act in 1995 and five times amendment. That has been justified and institutionally supported by medical viewpoint. The medical approach which reconsider the persons with mental disabilities as patients conceal that the aims of the involuntary admission in Mental Hospital are protection of society and the relief of the family member's duty of support for person with mental disabilities. This is institutionally supported in the 1995 Korean Mental Health Act by involuntary admission through the consent of family members as protectors. According to the old Act, the family members as protectors are authorized to consent to involuntary admission of persons with mental disabilities. Also, the psychiatrist that diagnoses the person with mental disabilities and evaluates the need for treatment by admission is not impartial in this decision. Family members as protectors may want to lighten their burden of support for the person with mental disabilities in their home by admitting them into a mental hospital, and the psychiatrist in the mental hospital can be improperly influenced by demand of hospital management. Additionally, Article 24 of the Korean Mental Health Act for the Involuntary Admission by the Consent of Family Members as Protector might violate personal liberty, as guaranteed in the Korean Constitution. The Mental Health Promotion Law was amended to reduce the scope of the persons with mental illness which are subject to forced hospitalization and to demand that a second diagnosis is made by another psychiatrist and screening by the committee concerning the legitimacy of admission in the process of the involuntary admission by the consent of family members as a method of protection. The amended Mental Health Promotion Law will contribute to reducing the number of the involuntary admissions and the inclusion of persons with mental disabilities. But if persons with mental disabilities are not providing some kind of service to the community, the amended Mental Health Promotion Law does not work for Inclusion of them.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.68 no.4
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• pp.225-246
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• 2016

This study aims to explore the theoretical and practical potentials of the late modern social space theories concerning deinstitutionalization issues in the field of the Mental Health. Deinstitutionalization, the process of converting the living space mentally ill people from facilities to the community, is a meaningful event realizing the modern ideology of human rights and welfare in social work territory. Although the continuos and accumulative efforts to realize the ideas of deinstitutionalization, which have focused on the ideological validity and the conditions and administrative supports needed for materialization, however, discussing the issues without analyzing late modern societal space neglects the constraints of the generic and comprehensive 'space' in which the deinstitutionalization can actually occur. Thus, this study attempts the following by analyzing the concrete reality of social space: focusing on deinstitutionalization in a larger social context, different from previous studies that discussed it on a normative and fragmentary level; and more concretely analyzing the realistic limits and challenges facing deinstitutionalization. In order to do this, previous literature related to deinstitutionalization is laid out and theories of late modern social space are studied. Based on this, the kinds of phenomenon that occur when this sort of late modern social space meets with the deinstitutionalization of mentally ill people are analyzed. Finally, based on the results, the study suggests several implications to realize the rights and welfare of mentally in the late modern space concerning deinstitutionalization.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.411-423
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was to form a healthy smartphone culture and serve as basic materials for developing smartphone addiction intervention program by understanding mental health and physical health of college students caused by smartphone addiction. Methods: The data collected from 261 college students at G and S city universities who understood the purpose of this study and consented to take part in the study were analyzed on mean, standard deviation, frequency, Chi square test and t-test using SPSS 20.0. Results: The result showed that the level of smartphone addiction was significantly different according to gender, age, type of college, satisfaction with college life and satisfaction with family life. The smartphone addiction risk group showed higher score in life stress, depression, social avoidance and distress than the general user group and the physical health was also higher in the risk group than the general user group. Conclusion: It is necessary to develop and apply customized intervention plan per each person's characteristics and level of addiction to prevent addiction and improve health condition from overuse of smartphone.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.95-106
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the recent research trends in health and mental health literacy and suggest their implications for future research. Methods: Ninety six articles on the topics of health literacy and mental health literacy that were published in journals in Korea during the last 10 years analyzed. Results: The majority of articles were published in medical journals, whereas the articles published in social and natural sciences journals were conducted by multidisciplinary research teams and seemed to be increasing generally. The participants studied in the selected articles were mostly older adults followed by adults aged 18 and over, and other various groups including health professionals and immigrant groups. More than 97% of the articles used quantitative research methods. Conclusions: Health literacy mirrors other health inequalities. To increase the level of understanding of health information, studies should be conducted using various variables. It is also necessary to develop a community education program that can be implemented in the community. Futher, the results highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary research. It is hoped that this effort will help solve t health inequality.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.89-112
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to systemize volunteer program for the people with chronic mental health problems to participate in helping the community as service providers not receivers, and then to examine empowerment effects of this volunteer program. The distinctive feature of this program was to volunteer the mental ill to help other people. Therefore, this volunteer program had specially strengthened preliminary stage which make not only the mental ill be ready to work but also the community to use them as volunteer, and to invite general citizen of the community as co-volunteers. The result showed this program empowered the mental disorders to have more positive self-concept. It revealed that co-volunteer's attitude toward the mental disorders was changed positively through this program, also. These results told us not only the chronic mental ill could be volunteers helping others using their abilities, but also this activity would make their self-image better and citizen's perception toward mental disorder less prejudiced. The volunteer program presented in this paper was expected to be useful for their empowerment and social integration.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.239-244
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• 2014

This research was carried out for the purpose of providing basic data to establish a policy for improving health and medical service inequality in the disabled's households, by analyzing it according to composed groups through the application of data about the panel survey of the employment for the disabled, from 2010 to 2012. The results of analysis showed that as for Gini's coefficient, disabled women, the disabled without participation in economic activities, the disabled in their 40s, physically handicapped people and severely disabled people had more and more inequality in expenditure of health care expenses, and inequality in North Gyeongsang Province continued to be on the rise. As for the entropy coefficient, disabled women, the disabled without participation in economic activities, the mentally disabled and severely disabled people had more and more inequality in consumption of health care, and the inequality got severe in Ulsan and North Gyeongsang Province. And as for the decomposition of factors by composed group, inequality in health care expenses were higher inside a group than between groups. Based on these results, research limitations and implications were suggested.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.765-775
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that affect the suicidal ideation of the people with mental disabilities. To this end, the independent variables were analyzed by categorizing them into individual psychological factors, social factors, and demographic characteristics. The analysis data include 969 people with mental disabilities who participated in the 2017 Ministry of Health and Welfare's Research, 'Survey on the Current Status of Mental Disabilities in Community'. The analysis method was frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis with SPSS 23.0. As a result of the study, in terms of individual psychological factors, the higher the depression and the lower the mental health confidence, the more suicidal ideation increase. In terms of social factors, the more unregistered disabled groups, the more exposure to violence and discrimination, and the more they live in large cities, the higher their ideation of suicidal. The regression model explained 26.9% of suicidal ideation. The practical and policy implications for the prevention of suicide of the people with mental disabilities based on these results are as follows: First, social factors should be evaluated and considered together, rather than focusing only on individual psychological factors, in seeking policies and intervention programs that reduce suicidal ideation in the people with mental disabilities. Second, in seeking suicide prevention policies for the people with mental disabilities, Protection & Advocacy services should be provided to reduce violence and discrimination experiences. Third, in order to reduce the suicidal ideation of the people with mental disabilities, the mental disability registration system should be reorganized, and policy alternatives should be devised so that those experiencing mental distress can be included into the system.