• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.140-144
• /
• 2021

Catastrophic health expenditure refers to measure the level of the economic burden of households due to medical expenses. The purpose of this study was to examine the proportion of households that experienced catastrophic health expenditure between 2006 and 2019 using available data from the National Survey of Tax and Benefit (NaSTaB), Korea Health Panel (KHP), and Households Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). Trend test was used to analyze the proportion of households with catastrophic healthcare expenditure. The households experienced a catastrophic health expenditure of 2.44% in 2019 using the NaSTaB data. Trend analysis was significant with the decreasing trend (annual percentage change [APC], -4.49; p<0.0001) in the proportion of households with catastrophic health expenditure. Also, the results of the 2017 KHP and the 2016 HIES showed 2.20% and 2.92%. The trend was significantly increased in the KHP (APC, 1.79; p<0.0001) and the HIES (APC, 1.43; p<0.0001). Therefore, this study suggests that further public healthcare interventions to alleviate the burden of catastrophic health expenditure, especially for low-income households, are needed.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.363-369
• /
• 2023

The term "catastrophic health expenditure" means assessing the extent to which medical costs cause financial hardship for households. The aim of this research is to analyze the percentage of households that faced severe financial strain due to medical expenses from 2006 to 2021. This was achieved by utilizing data obtained from the National Survey of Tax and Benefit (NaSTaB), Korea Health Panel (KHP), and Households Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). A trend analysis was conducted to examine the percentage of households that experienced catastrophic healthcare expenses. The households that experienced the catastrophic health expenditure was 2.49% in 2021 using the NaSTaB data. The trend analysis yielded a statistically significant result, indicating a decreasing trend (annual percent change [APC], -4.79; p<0.0001) in the proportion of households facing catastrophic health expenditures. Also, the results of the 2019 KHP and the 2021 HIES showed 1.09% and 2.44% for the households that experienced catastrophic health expenditure. The trend was increased according to the KHP (APC, 0.55; p=0.0004) and the HIES (APC, 7.04; p<0.0001). As a result, this study proposes that sustained attention and further interventions are necessary to ease the economic pressure caused by catastrophic health expenses, particularly for low-income households.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.54 no.11
• /
• pp.999-1009
• /
• 2021

As the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to climate change are increasing in recent years, it is very important to evaluate and analyze climate conditions to manage and respond to the negative effects of climate change in advance. In this study, the trends and characteristics of regional climate change were analyzed by calculating the climate indices for the Chungcheong Province. Annual and monthly UNEP-MP, UNEP-PM and MDM indices were calculated using daily data from 1973-2020 collected from 10 synoptic meteorological stations operated by the Korea Meteorological Administration. The normality of climate data was analyzed through the KS test, and the climate change trend was analyzed by applying the Spearman and Pearson methods. The Chungcheongnam-do region had a relatively humid climate than the Chungcheongbuk-do region, and the annual climate indices showed a dry climate trend in Cheongju and Chungju, while the climate of Seosan and Buyeo was becoming humid. Based on the monthly trend change analysis, a humid climate trend was observed in summer and autumn, while a dry climate trend was observed in spring and winter. Comparison of climate indices during the past (2001-2010) and the recent (2011-2020) years showed a higher decrease in the average climate indices during the last 10 years and a gradually drying climate change trend was recorded.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Biology Conference
• /
• 2002.05a
• /
• pp.79-79
• /
• 2002

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.1-22
• /
• 2018

Eight different data sets are examined in order to gain insight into the surface heat flux traits of the East Asian marginal seas. In the case of solar radiation of the East Sea (Japan Sea), Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiments ver. 2 (CORE2) and the Objectively Analyzed Air-Sea Fluxes (OAFlux) are similar to the observed data at meteorological stations. A combination is sought by averaging these as well as the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)-1 data to acquire more accurate surface heat flux for the East Asian marginal seas. According to the Combination Data, the annual averages of net heat flux of the East Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea are -61.84, -22.42, and $-97.54Wm^{-2}$, respectively. The Kuroshio area to the south of Japan and the southern East Sea were found to have the largest upward annual mean net heat flux during winter, at -460- -300 and at $-370--300Wm^{-2}$, respectively. The long-term fluctuation (1984-2004) of the net heat flux shows a trend of increasing transport of heat from the ocean into the atmosphere throughout the study area.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.80-83
• /
• 2017

The proportion of people who reported unmet healthcare needs is an important indicator to measure the access problem in healthcare service. To examine current status and trends of unmet needs in Korea, we used data from four sources: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHNES, '2007-2015); the Community Health Survey (CHS '2008-2015); the Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP '2011-2013); the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS '2006-2015). The proportion of individual reporting unmet healthcare needs as of 2015 was 12.6% (KNHNES), 11.7% (CHS), and 16.3% (KHP, as of 2013). Annual percent change which characterizes trend for follow-up period was -9.4%, -3.4%, and 7.6%, respectively. The proportion of individual reporting unmet healthcare needs due to cost was 2.8% (KNHNES), 1.7% (CHS), and 4.6% (KHP). The proportion of household reporting unmet healthcare needs due to cost was 1.2% (KOWEPS). Annual percent change was -9.0%, -14.9%, 9.4%, and -18.2%, respectively. Low income population reported about 5 times more unmet needs than high income population. Therefore for decreasing the unmet healthcare needs, strategies focusing on low income population were needed.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.300-309
• /
• 2008

Variations in PM10 concentration between 2000 and 2005 from 84 urban air monitoring stations operated by the government were analyzed. The K-means cluster analysis was attempted using annual average and the 99th percentile of daily averages as parameters. The results obtained by excluding Asian dust episode days were compared with those obtained by using all available data. In any cases, the cluster with the highest mean concentration was mostly composed of stations in Seoul and Gyeonggi. Annual average of the cluster with the highest mean concentration showed a distinct decreasing trend, but that excluding Asian dust episode days did not show such a trend. Without Asian dust episode days high concentrations of monthly averages in March and April were also not observed. The effect of Asian dust was more pronounced in the 99th percentile of daily averages. The 99th percentile of daily averages of the cluster with the highest mean concentration was the highest in June following downs in April and May.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.8
• /
• pp.612-620
• /
• 2012

High economic growth causes increase of the building energy consumption. The energy consumption for HVAC system accounts for 40~50% of the whole building consumption. The trend for building is large-scale and high-rise. Because of the trend, the energy consumption is becoming bigger than before. Nowadays, HVAC system design are recognized as the solution for a energy-saving. This paper is focused on the energy performance evaluation of central air-conditioning system(water-based) and system air-conditioning that were applied to the office building. The systems are modeled and simulated by using EnergyPlus Software 6.0. After the Simulation, annual cooling and heating energy consumption were calculated. It was found that the system air-conditioning can reduce the energy consumption approximately 55.24% annually compared with the central air-conditioning system(water-cooled). In addition, about 46.13% of annual operating costs can be reduced by use of system air-conditioning.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.157-162
• /
• 2015

The descriptive epidemiological study aimed to analyse the mortality trends from gynaecological cancer in Serbia. Average annual percentage of change (AAPC) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed for trend using joinpoint regression analysis. Nearly 25,000 gynaecological cancer deaths occurred in Serbia during the 1991-2010 period, with the average annual age-standardised mortality rate being 17.2 per 100,000 women. Increase of mortality was observed for cancer of the vulva and vagina (AAPC=+1.3%, 95% CI=0.1 to 2.6), ovarian cancer (AAPC=+0.8%, 95% CI=0.4-1.3) and for cervical cancer (AAPC=+0.7%, 95% CI=0.3 to 1.1). Mortality rates for gynaecological cancer overall declined in women aged 30-39 years, but mortality was increased in middle-aged women (for cervical cancer) and in the elderly (for ovarian cancer). Improvements to and implementation of the national cervical cancer screening programme conducted in 2013 and expected to be finalised in the following years throughout Serbia should contribute to improvement.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.24
• /
• pp.10787-10790
• /
• 2015

Background: Ovarian cancer is an important cause of mortality in women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and mortality rates and trends in the Iranian population and make predictions. Materials and Methods: National incidence from Iranian annual of National Cancer Registration report from 2003 to 2009 and National Death Statistics reported by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education from 1999 to 2004 were included in this study. A time series model (autoregressive) was used to predict the mortality for the years 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013, with results expressed as annual mortality rates per 100,000. Results: The general mortality rate of ovarian cancer slightly increased during the years under study from 0.01 to 0.75 and reaching plateau according to the prediction model. Mortality was higher for older age. The incidence also increased during the period of the study. Conclusions: Our study indicated remarkable increasing trends in ovarian cancer mortality and incidence. Therefore, attention to high risk groups and setting awareness programs for women are needed to reduce the associated burden in the future.