The final model built in this study appears to predict the utilities of the states which were valuated directly. This model could be used to interpolate quality weights for all EQ-5D-5L health states.

Background: The world is currently experiencing a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In Korea, as in other countries, the number of confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 have been rising. This study aimed to calculate the burden of disease due to COVID-19 in Korea. Methods: We used data on confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 between January 20 and April 24, 2020 provided by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the local governments and the public media to determine disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by sex and age. Morbidity was estimated directly among the confirmed, cured, and fatal cases. Disability weights were adopted from previous similar causes on the severity of COVID-19 for the years of life lived with disability (YLDs). The years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated using the standard life expectancy from the 2018 life tables for each sex and age. Results: The YLDs were higher in females (155.2) than in males (105.1), but the YLLs were higher in males (1,274.3) than in females (996.4). The total disease burden attributable to COVID-19 in Korea during the study period, was estimated to be 2,531.0 DALYs, and 4.930 DALYs per 100,000 population. The YLDs and the YLLs constituted 10.3% and 89.7% of the total DALYs, respectively. The DALYs per 100,000 population were highest in people aged ≥ 80 years, followed by those aged 70-79, 60-69, and 50-59 years, but the incidence was the highest in individuals aged 20-29 years. Conclusion: This study provided the estimates of DALYs due to COVID-19 in Korea. Most of the disease burden from COVID-19 was derived from YLL; this indicates that decision-makers should focus and make an effort on reducing fatality for preparing the second wave of COVID-19.

Disability weight for each disease plays a key role in combining years lived with disability and years of life lost in disability adjusted life year. For the Korean Burden of Disease 2012 study, we have conducted a re-estimation of disability weights for causes of disease by adapting the methodology of a recent Global Burden of Disease study. Our study was conducted through a self-administered web-based survey using a paired comparison (PC) as the main valuation method. A total of 496 physicians and medical college students who were attending in third or fourth grade of a regular course conducted the survey. We applied a probit regression on the PC data and computed the predicted probabilities of each cause of disease from the coefficient estimates of the probit regression. We used 'being dead (1)' and 'full health (0)' as anchor points to rescale the predicted probability of each cause of disease on a scale of 0 to 1. By this method, disability weights for a total of 228 causes of disease were estimated. There was a fairly high correlation between the disability weights of overlapping causes of disease from this study and a previous South Korean study despite the differences in valuation methods and time periods. In conclusion, we have shown that disability weights can be estimated based on a PC by including 'full health' and 'being dead' as anchor points without resorting to a person trade-off. Through developments in the methodology of disability weights estimation from this study, disability weights can be easily estimated and continuously revised.

This study is part of a 5-year research project on the national burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in Korea. Using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), a metric introduced by the 1990 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project, we performed a comprehensive and detailed assessment of the magnitude and distribution of both fatal and non-fatal health problems in the Korean population. The concept and general approach were consistent with the original GBD study, with some methodological modifications to make the study more suitable for Korea. We computed DALYs for 313 causes in both sexes and nine age groups using the entire population's medical records and newly generated Korean disability weights. In 2012, the dominant disease burden was non-communicable diseases, which accounted for 85.21% of total DALYs, while injuries accounted for 7.77% and communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional disorders for 7.02%. Of the total DALYs, 88.67% were from years lived with disability and 11.32% were from years of life lost due to premature mortality. Diabetes mellitus was the leading cause of DALYs, followed by low back pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, cirrhosis of the liver, falls, osteoarthritis, motorized vehicle with three or more wheels, and self-harm. The results reported here identify key health challenges and opportunities for future health interventions and policy changes, and provide information that will help assess the major public health issues in Korea, a nation faced with one of the world's most rapidly ageing populations.

BackgroundThe psychometric properties of the Korean Short Form-12 Health Survey, version 2 (SF-12 v2) have not been assessed in the general population. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the SF-12 v2 in the general population and to provide SF-12 v2 domain scores according to the general characteristics of the study population.MethodsA total of 1,000 participants from the general Korean population were recruited using a multistage quota sampling method. Psychometric properties were evaluated by descriptive statistics, validity, reliability, and exploratory factor analysis.ResultsItem convergent and discriminant validity met the criteria established by the instrument developer. In the known-group comparison, male gender, age <60 years, high educational status, and absence of any comorbidity were significantly associated with high scale scores. The reliability of all SF-12 v2 items was 0.88.ConclusionsThe findings of this study generally support the idea that the Korean SF-12 v2 is a feasible, valid, and reliable instrument for assessing health-related quality of life in the general population. The SF-12 v2 seems to be a viable alternative health-related quality of life instrument for the Korean population.

BackgroundMultimorbidity negatively affects health outcomes and impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We assessed the prevalence of multimorbidity in Koreans aged 50 and older, taking into consideration their socioeconomic status, and estimated the loss in HRQoL due to multimorbidity.MethodsThis study is based on an analysis of data for adults aged 50 and older derived from the cross-sectional nationally representative Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2013–14. The five most prevalent chronic diseases and disease dyads were identified. The impact of the degree of multimorbidity, sex, and socioeconomic status on the European Quality of Life 5 Dimension (EQ-5D) index score were analyzed. Marital status, educational attainment, household income, basic livelihood security benefit, and occupation were considered as socioeconomic factors.ResultsThe analysis included 5996 adults aged 50 years and older with males comprising 46.6%. Two or more chronic diseases were present in 26.8% of the participants aged 50 and older and 37.9% of the participants aged 65 and older. The most prevalent dyadic combination was hypertension and dyslipidemia in the 50 and older group, and hypertension and osteoarthritis in the 65 and older age group. Hypertension dominated the multimorbidity combinations (four of the five most prevalent multimorbidity dyads), while a few conditions such as osteoarthritis had a relatively large influence on quality of life. In addition to the degree of multimorbidity, female and lower socioeconomic status were associated with significantly lower EQ-5D index scores.ConclusionsIntegrated, holistic healthcare based on a patient-oriented perspective for earlier, more effective intervention, targeting multimorbidity is warranted. Special consideration should be given to patients with low socioeconomic status.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major public health problem of international concern. It is important to estimate its impact of COVID-19 for health policy decision-making. We estimated the years of life lost (YLLs) due to COVID-19 in high-incidence countries. Methods We collected the YLLs due to COVID-19 in 30 high-incidence countries as of April 13, 2020 and followed up as of July 14, 2020. Incidence and mortality were collected using each country's formal reports, articles, and other electronic sources. The life expectancy of Japanese females by age and the UN population data were used to calculate YLLs in total and per 100,000. Results As of April 22, 2020, there were 1,699,574 YLLs due to COVID-19 in 30 high-incidence countries. On July 14, 2020, this increased to 4,072,325. Both on April 22 and July 14, the total YLLs due to COVID-19 was highest in the USA (April 22, 534,481 YLLs; July 14, 1,199,510 YLLs), and the YLLs per 100,000 population was highest in Belgium (April 22, 868.12 YLLs/100,000; July 14, 1,593.72 YLLs/100,000). YLLs due to COVID-19 were higher among males than among females and higher in those aged ≥ 60 years than in younger individuals. Belgium had the highest proportion of YLLs attributable to COVID-19 as a proportion of the total YLLs and the highest disability-adjusted life years per 100,000 population. Conclusion This study estimated YLLs due to COVID-19 in 30 countries. COVID-19 is a high burden in the USA and Belgium, among males and the elderly. The YLLs are very closely related with the incidence as well as the mortality. This highlights the importance of the early detection of incident case that minimizes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 fatality.

BackgroundHealthcare professionals who experience trauma due to patient safety incidents can be considered second victims, and they also suffer from various difficulties. In order to support second victims, it is necessary to determine the circumstances of the incidents in question, along with the symptoms that the victims are experiencing and the support they require. A qualitative study on healthcare professionals of various occupations, such as physicians and nurses working in Korea, was conducted, and the experiences and response methods and processes of second victims were examined.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with 16 healthcare professionals (six physicians, eight nurses, and two pharmacists) who had experienced a patient safety incident. All interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the data analysis was conducted in accordance with Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory. Both open coding and axial coding were performed. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) were applied in this study.ResultsThe results of the open coding demonstrated that the experiences of second victims can be categorized into “the reactions of the first victim and surrounding people after the incident,” “Influence of factors aside from the incident,” “the initial complex responses of the participants to the incident,” “open discussion of the incident,” “the culture in medical institutions regarding early-stage incident response,” “the coping responses of the participants after incidents,” and “living with the incident.” Then, the seven categories in the open coding stage were rearranged according to the paradigm model, and the reaction process of the second victims was analyzed through process analysis, being divided into the “entanglement stage,” “agitating stage,” “struggling stage,” “managing stage,” and “indurating stage.”ConclusionsThis research is significant because it provides a comprehensive understanding of second victims’ experiences in the eastern region of Korea, by obtaining data using a qualitative research method. The findings of the study also highlight the five stages of the second victim response process, and can be used to design a specialized second victim support program in Korea.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-3936-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.