Park YT, et al. Healthc Inform Res. 2019 Apr;25(2):115-123. https://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2019.25.2.115

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively impacted many aspects of life. Measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19 (e.g., school lockdowns, remote and hybrid classes, group and outdoor activity restrictions, and social distancing in the classroom and meal time) could have led to adolescents to experience anxiety and depressive symptoms. Such mental health impacts could increase the risk of suicidal ideation in this population. Moreover, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, although the total number of suicide deaths in South Korea decreased in 2021, the suicide rate of those aged 10–29 years increased. One factor affecting the result is adolescent mental health by COVID-19. This study examines the mental health status of South Korean adolescents amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and identifies and analyzes predictors of suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts. Methods: The study used data from 54,948 adolescents who participated in the 2020 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Based on their responses to suicide-related questions, the sample was divided into a healthy group, suicide-ideation group, suicide-planning group, and suicide-attempt group. The descriptive statistics of these groups were then analyzed. An analysis of covariance, post-hoc tests, and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed on the four groups. Results: Overall, 6.9% of the participants reported suicidal ideation, 2.2% reported planning suicide, and 1.9% reported attempting suicide in the previous 12 months. Conclusions: During the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, there is a strong need for various individualized programs that identify and intervene to support adolescents at risk of suicide by accurately assessing their mental health risk factors, such as stress, sadness and despair, loneliness, and generalized anxiety disorder. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop and distribute a mental health and well-being curriculum, strengthen suicide prevention programs and support services, expand mental health diagnostic tests, and school-based mental health programs.

Self-harm injury among older adults is a pressing problem that demands social attention in South Korea. This study sought to identify the association between physical and mental illness and hospitalization following self-harm injuries, compared to non-self-harm injuries, among older adults living in Korea. We analyzed individuals aged 65 and older who were admitted to hospitals either for self-harm or non-self-harm from a population-based survey of the Korea National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey (KNHDIS). A logistic regression analysis was performed. Compared with non-self-harm-related hospitalization, self-harm hospitalization was associated with higher odds of depression, other disorders of the nervous system, malignancies, alcohol misuse and dependence, and drug-related dependence. Dementia, anxiety disorder, diabetes, arthritis, cerebral palsy, and other paralytic syndromes had a lower likelihood of leading to self-harm than non-self-harm hospitalization. The findings of this study can inform medical professionals to identify older adults with a heightened risk of self-harming behavior leading to hospitalization.

Tae Yeon Yoon, Hyun Sook Lee, Jung-Woo Son, Sang Mi Kim, and Je Jung Lee. J Korean Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2022;33:59-66. https://doi.org/10.5765/jkacap.220002

The Korean government has implemented a pilot project that introduces a new type of hospice care program called “Consultative Hospice Care” (COHC) since August 2017. The COHC is a new type of hospice program for terminally ill patients in acute care wards, which is different from the Independent Hospice Unit (IHU) care. This study aimed to compare the characteristics of two groups of hospice patients: COHC care only and both IHU care and COHC groups. Healthcare claim data from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2020 were retrieved from the HIRA data warehouse system. The main outcome variable was patients receiving COHC only or both COHC and IHU care. The total number of hospice patients was 6482. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. Of 6482 hospice care recipients, 3789 (58.5%) received both COHC and IHU care. Those who received both COHC and IHU care were significantly associated with several factors: period from the first evaluation to death (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 1.026; 95% confidence internal (CI), 1.024–1.029; p < 0.0001), disease severity measured by the Charlson Comorbidity Index (aOR, 1.032; CI, 1.017–1.047; p < 0.0001), consciousness (aOR, 3.654; CI, 3.269–4.085; p < 0.0001), and awareness of end-stage disease (aOR, 1.422; CI, 1.226–1.650; p < 0.0001). The COHC program had a critical role in hospice delivery to terminally ill patients. Policymakers on hospice care need to establish plans that promote efficient hospice care delivery systems.