Suicide is one of the most important public health issues worldwide, with causes that are multifaceted and complex. Suicide is more than an individual problem and is influenced by broader social and structural contexts. A public health approach has an important role in effective suicide prevention. For World Suicide Prevention Day 2024, The Lancet Public Health published a series titled ‘A Public Health Approach for Suicide Prevention’. This series presents suicide prevention from a public health perspective. In particular, the series highlights the role and importance of a public health approach and covers factors such as access to means of suicide, economic downturns and their effects, the spread of suicide risk through media, and other major societal-level risk factors. Lastly, the series presents public health actions for suicide prevention in its final section. This article summarizes the key messages from the six papers in the series and discusses their implications for suicide prevention policy in South Korea.
Ohio’s child protective services operate on a two-track response system in which child abuse cases are dealt with according to the level of risk presented. In contrast to Korea’s unified system focused on investigation and the determination of maltreatment, the differential response approach assigns high-risk cases the traditional pathway of formal investigation and determination, while lower-risk, manageable cases are directed to an alternative track where the child’s needs are assessed and supportive services are offered contingent on voluntary family engagement. This approach reduces the need for child removal and has been shown to be effective in preventing further abuse.
In this article, I give an account of the conceptual framework of child abuse and the procedural steps taken in dealing with maltreatment cases in Scotland, and explore the implications that Scotland’s child protective system holds for policymaking in Korea. In Scotland, child protection is structured as a collaborative effort that involves multiple stakeholders. Community members are directly engaged, taking on key roles at various stages in the process of child protection. The role played by healthcare institutions in multi-stakeholder collaboration is especially underscored with all healthcare professionals involved in child protection required to complete mandatory child protection training, with the result that interventions by healthcare institutions in child protection are carried out systematically and in a well-organized manner. Scotland’s system demonstrates that Korea could benefit from structured multi-agency collaboration and greater community participation.
Cases of child abuse often worsen or recur, since it is hard for children to report or escape abuse situations on their own. Because experiences of childhood abuse can persist as physical and emotional threats throughout an individual’s life course, efforts must be made to keep the issue of child abuse at the forefront of public and policy attention. This article examines how child abuse is addressed in Japan, a country with an institutional framework similar to Korea’s, and considers the implications Japan’s practices may hold for Korea. Among the lessons drawn is that, for an effective response to child abuse, the government should both support the entities involved in the response system and oversee the quality of services they provide. Also crucial is strengthening collaboration with stakeholder organizations. In addition, to proactively prevent child abuse, current and prospective guardians must be made subject to education, support, and oversight.
In most of the world’s industrialized countries, labor force participation among the population aged 65 and over has continued to grow as a result of sustained improvement in the health of this demographic group and increases in the age at which individuals begin to receive public pension benefits. Germany’s mini-job and midi-job schemes are part of employment policies targeting groups considered more vulnerable in the labor market, including older workers. Individuals in mini jobs must not have monthly earnings exceeding 556 euros and are exempt from paying social insurance contributions. Midi-jobs are defined as monthly earnings falling within the 556-2,000-euro range, with those in these jobs paying social insurance contributions on a sliding scale. The two employment schemes have contributed to raising the employment rate, but they are not without drawbacks, such as entrenching low-wage work or creating what is known as mini-job trap. Also, assessments are mixed about how the fiscal support provided for these programs affects income distribution. Germany’s mini-job and midi-job policies have revealed both their potential and limitations as policies intended to meet older people’s desire for work and the demands of the market.
England provides various out-of-home protection services to children and adolescents in need of protection. Particularly distinct among these services is the Semi-Independent Living Arrangement (SILA), administered systematically for adolescents aged 16 and older, a group at a critical stage in preparing for independent living. About 8 percent of children in the out-of-home care system are supported through SILA. In this article I examine SILA in detail―considering the legal framework, operational structure, case management, assessment of varying support needs, and local government practices―and discuss how such a scheme, not yet implemented in Korea, could enhance Korea’s out-of-home childcare system.
In Japan, the legal framework for donations has been taking shape over time in step with the steady growth of donations. Dormant bank accounts partially fund private-sector activities serving the public interest. The “hometown tax” system offers donors tax credits, while local governments as recipients use the contributions to supplement funding and promote regional development. Both initiatives help address social welfare shortfalls that local governments cannot cover with their official budgets alone. However, the downside of both is that they often fail to reflect donors’ specific intentions regarding how their contributions should be used. To ensure that donations effectively complement social welfare as intended, continuous improvements to these systems are necessary. Such improvements are likely to occur together with increasing public awareness of the limitations of official social welfare.
This study examines funeral policies and systems in Japan, the US, and France, and identifies lessons applicable to Korea. Key findings are as follows. First, these countries distinguish the roles of local governments from those of the central government, allowing local authorities to implement effective funeral administration tailored to regional needs. Second, while the United States favors private-run, profit-oriented operations, Japan and France prioritize public-interest, non-profit approaches. Third, the common threads throughout are integrated “one-stop” funeral facilities that combine funeral halls and cremation services. This suggests the potential value of adopting such a system for Korea. Fourth, in the US and France, funeral facilities are often designed as park-like spaces, so that they can serve as community-friendly welfare amenities―a model worth considering in policymaking in Korea. Incorporating these insights into policymaking can enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability of Korea’s funeral policies and systems.
Suicide is one of the most important public health issues worldwide, with causes that are multifaceted and complex. Suicide is more than an individual problem and is influenced by broader social and structural contexts. A public health approach has an important role in effective suicide prevention. For World Suicide Prevention Day 2024, The Lancet Public Health published a series titled ‘A Public Health Approach for Suicide Prevention’. This series presents suicide prevention from a public health perspective. In particular, the series highlights the role and importance of a public health approach and covers factors such as access to means of suicide, economic downturns and their effects, the spread of suicide risk through media, and other major societal-level risk factors. Lastly, the series presents public health actions for suicide prevention in its final section. This article summarizes the key messages from the six papers in the series and discusses their implications for suicide prevention policy in South Korea.
