• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.70-87
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• 2013

This study investigated contents of mission statements for Strategic Management of hospitals in Korea and Japan. For the study, 44 tertiary care hospitals in korea, which were accredited by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, were selected. And 83 special functioning hospitals in Japan, which were approved by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, were included. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted by classifying 5 components of the mission statement; market, service, philosophy, image, contribution. Findings from this study are as follow. First, hospitals in Korea emphasized image(93.2%) and philosophy(81.8%) components in their mission statements, whereas hospitals in Japan highlighted components of service(89.2%) and market(72.3%). In detail, mission statements of Korean tertiary care hospitals describe the components of hospital's image (93.2%), philosophy(81.8%), contribution(56.8%), market(22.7%) and service (18.2%) in order. On the other hand, mission statements of Japanese special functioning hospitals describe hospital's service(89.2%), market(72.3%), contribution(61.4%), image (49.4%) and philosophy(34.9%), respectively. Second, as results of Content analysis, there were some differences in mission statements of hospitals between two countries, and it is mainly from the divergences of standards for recognition of medical institutions, environmental factors, and different ways of mission statement description. For strategic hospital management, carrying out innovative restructuring organization or promoting of research and training for medical development is considered as a desirable approach. However, clear description of mission statement is more important and it is required for effective control and managing organization. And then the mission should be communicated within an organization so all internal members understand it and put their efforts to achieve the mission of organization. In conclusion, it is recommended that a leader and senior managers should re-evaluate its mission statement whether it reflects characteristics of an organization. In addition, a mission statement should be created or improved based on critical decision, as well as it should be clearly shared within an organization in order to become a future oriented organizations.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.167-181
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• 2008

The prevention of life-style related diseases is an increasingly important issue in Japan, because not only have the number of patients with life-style related diseases increased but also medical care costs. This paper gives recent strategies for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases through life-style modification. Health objectives for the year 2010, called "Healthy Japan 21", were established in 2000 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Health Promotion Act was enacted in 2002 to promote this health policy. However, the prevention efforts for life-style related diseases have not been effective in regard to the evaluation of the strategy objectives. The reform of the medical care system which included a new nationwide prevention strategy for life-style related diseases was presented in 2006. The new strategy starting from April 2008 included a "specific health checkup" and "specific health education" for those with metabolic syndrome. The specific health checkup is used to screen people according to criteria of the metabolic syndrome and divide them into 3 groups. These groups will receive specific health education. The purpose of this strategy is the early detection of those who have cardiovascular risk factors, and the early management of the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors of obese people aged 40-74 years old. It is mandatory for every insurer to conduct a specific health checkup and specific health education under the new Act. The implementation rate of the specific health checkup and the specific health education, and a reduction rate of individuals with metabolic syndrome among insured people will be evaluated every year. The national objective is to increase the rate of those undergoing the specific health checkup to 80% and the rate of those receiving the specific health education to 60% by the year 2015. The national objective also targeted a reduction rate of 25% for those with metabolic syndrome. This new strategy will be the biggest intervention trial in the world, and it will produce a big health care market in Japan. Not only public administrative institutions but also private institutions are now preparing to take part in this new strategy. However, various tasks remain, such as training more professionals in health education, developing more evidence based practices, and encouraging cooperation with various sectors, to enforce this new strategy.