This study was conducted to identify the important research fields and areas for solving current and future health care problems in Korea and to develop priorities in selected research fields and areas. Delphi technique was used to collect expert's opinion. Questionnaire surveys were carried out three rounds, and 29 panel members were invited. From second questionnaire survey, we proposed the median value of score and respondent's score in each item. Prevalence, seriousness and manageability were the main criteria to select the research fields and areas and in priority setting. In health fields, 20 research fields were selected and population, family planning, and environmental pollution were the most important research fields among them. In each research field, several research areas were selected. Because our study had 85 research areas, the priority of research areas was selected in each research fields.
Health Planning/trends* ; Health Priorities/trends* ; Health Services Research/trends* ; Human ; Korea

In recent decades it has been proved that the success or failure of family planning program in developing countries has tremendous impact on the improvement of health, welfare, as well as the general socio-economic development. Therefore it is worth giving a review of family planning in Korea during the last two decades. We are happy to credit the voluntary leaders, particular1y from the public health sector of universities, who played a key pioneering role in the initiation of the organized effort and for the continued leadership in the development of the national program. The organization of 17,000 village level family planning mothers' clubs in 1968 is one of the most outstanding innovative achievements. Despite such long standing problems as very poor morale of the family planning workers, poor national health care network, and stubborn preference for boys, Korea has been fairly successful in achieving the demographic objectives by reducing the total fertility rate from 6.0 in 1960 to 2.7 in 1968, and by increasing the rate of family planning practice from 9% in 1964 to 49% in 1978.
Contraception/methods ; Family Planning/trends* ; Human ; Korea ; Population Control ; Population Density ; Voluntary Health Agencies

City Planning ; Environment Design ; Environmental Exposure ; prevention & control ; Global Health ; Greenhouse Effect ; Humans ; Social Justice ; Urban Health ; Urbanization ; trends

Biomedical Research ; methods ; Combined Modality Therapy ; methods ; trends ; Delivery of Health Care, Integrated ; methods ; Geography ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Patient Care Planning ; trends ; Patient-Centered Care ; methods ; trends ; Western World

In 1952, the Japanese Society for Hygiene had once passed a resolution at its 22nd symposium on population control, recommending the suppression of population growth based on the idea of cultivating a healthier population in the area of eugenics. Over half a century has now passed since this recommendation; Japan is witnessing an aging of the population (it is estimated that over 65-year-olds made up 27.7% of the population in 2017) and a decline in the birth rate (total fertility rate 1.43 births per woman in 2017) at a rate that is unparalleled in the world; Japan is faced with a "super-aging" society with low birth rate. In 2017, the Society passed a resolution to encourage all scientists to engage in academic researches to address the issue of the declining birth rate that Japan is currently facing. In this commentary, the Society hereby declares that the entire text of the 1952 proposal is revoked and the ideas relating to eugenics is rejected. Since the Society has set up a working group on the issue in 2016, there have been three symposiums, and working group committee members began publishing a series of articles in the Society's Japanese language journal. This commentary primarily provides an overview of the findings from the published articles, which will form the scientific basis for the Society's declaration. The areas we covered here included the following: (1) improving the social and work environment to balance between the personal and professional life; (2) proactive education on reproductive health; (3) children's health begins with nutritional management in women of reproductive age; (4) workplace environment and occupational health; (5) workplace measures to counter the declining birth rate; (6) research into the effect of environmental chemicals on sexual maturity, reproductive function, and the children of next generation; and (7) comprehensive research into the relationship among contemporary society, parental stress, and healthy child-rearing. Based on the seven topics, we will set out a declaration to address Japan's aging society with low birth rate.
Aging ; Birth Rate ; trends ; Child ; Child Health ; Environmental Exposure ; adverse effects ; prevention & control ; Female ; Health Planning Guidelines ; Humans ; Japan ; epidemiology ; Male ; Occupational Health ; Reproductive Health ; education ; Research Design ; standards ; Societies, Scientific ; organization & administration ; Stress, Psychological ; prevention & control ; Women's Health