Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb 5;33(6):e43.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e43.

Improved Regional Disparities in Neonatal Care by Government-led Policies in Korea

In Gyu Song  1 , Seung Han Shin  2 , Han Suk Kim  3
Affiliations

Improved Regional Disparities in Neonatal Care by Government-led Policies in Korea

In Gyu Song et al. J Korean Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Although the number of high-risk neonates has increased in Korea, hospitals were reluctant to open or maintain neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) due to the low medical cost. Consequently, there were regional disparities in facilities, equipment, and neonatal health outcomes. For these reasons, the Korean government began to invest in neonatal care during the last decade. We identified the status of NICUs in Korea and assessed changes after the government-driven policies.

Methods: We surveyed 87 of 89 hospitals that operated NICUs in 2015. The questionnaire assessed the number of NICU beds, admission and mortality rates of very low birthweight infants (VLBWIs), personnel status, equipment and facilities, and available multidisciplinary approach. Current data was compared with the previous studies and changes in the status and function of the nationwide NICU from 2009 and 2011.

Results: During the last 7 years, there was an increase of 462 NICU beds, which met the required number estimated by the number of births and covered about 90% of regional VLBWI births. Status of facilities and equipment improved in all regions in Korea but there were still regional differences in multidisciplinary approach and human resources. The difference in odds ratios for mortality of VLBWI between regions decreased compared to 2009.

Conclusion: There was improvement in regional disparities of neonatal care and mortality of premature babies with the government investment in Korea. Further supports are required for human resources and referral system.

Keywords: Korea; Newborn; Policy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of changes in the distribution of NICU beds in Korea between 2009 and 2015 (number per 1,000 births). NICU = neonatal intensive care unit.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fertility rate. [Updated 2016]. [Accessed May 24, 2017]. http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1428.
    1. Trend of birth rate. [Updated 2016]. [Accessed October 1, 2016]. http://kosis.kr/statisticsList/statisticsList_01List.jsp?vwcd=MT_ZTITLE&....
    1. Moon JY, Hahn WH, Shim KS, Chang JY, Bae CW. Changes of maternal age distribution in live births and incidence of low birth weight infants in advanced maternal age group in Korea. Korean J Perinatol. 2011;22(1):30–36.
    1. Shin S, Park J, Namgung R, Park M, Son D, Lee J. Establishment of an Effective Healthcare System for High Risk Newborn Infants. Seoul, Korea: Korea Health Promotion Foundation, Management Center for Health Promotion; 2006.
    1. Anouncement of regional neonatal care center selection. [Updated 2016]. [Accessed May 25, 2017]. http://www.mohw.go.kr/front_new/al/sal0101vw.jsp?PAR_MENU_ID=04&MENU_ID=....