Health Ministry's Integrated Community Care Survey Finds 68% of High-Demand, Low-Supply Areas Have Declining Populations

Analysis of 16 key services across 229 cities, counties and districts
Home-based medical care is woefully inadequate, with wide regional disparities

The government’s first survey of integrated community care, covering 229 cities, counties and districts nationwide, found that specialized home-based health care infrastructure, including home medical centers, is woefully inadequate compared with the care needs of older adults and people with disabilities. In particular, despite high demand for care, areas with declining populations have significantly lower levels of service provision and accessibility than other areas. With stark regional disparities emerging, calls are growing for urgent, tailored measures.

On October 13, the Ministry of Health and Welfare released the findings of its survey of integrated community care. The potential group of older adults expected to need care over the medium to long term totals 3,208,000. Even when narrowed to the core group requiring priority management within the next five years, the number stands at 983,000. Among people with disabilities under 65, the potential group totals 608,000 and the core group 150,000, confirming substantial demand for care.

However, the health care infrastructure available to meet these needs varied sharply by type of care. An analysis of how well supply met demand across 16 major services found relatively high coverage rates for in-home care at 96.9% and personal assistance services for people with disabilities at 89.7%. By contrast, coverage was just 17.7% for home medical centers, 16.9% for primary care physicians for people with disabilities, and 1.5% for short-term care.

These limits in service provision were even more pronounced in rural areas with declining populations. The coverage rate for home visits by medical professionals was 25.5% in other areas, compared with just 10.7% in areas with declining populations. The gap was more than twofold for home medical centers as well: 20.6% in other areas versus 8.3% in areas with declining populations.

Travel distance is another problem. Based on road networks, residents in other areas traveled an average of 10.9 km to reach a service provider offering primary care physicians for people with disabilities. Residents of areas with declining populations, however, had to travel nearly twice as far, at 20.8 km, the survey found.

A total of 59 cities, counties and districts were identified as areas with high demand for care but low service provision, meaning demand exceeded the national average while supply fell short. Of these, 40, or 67.8%, were areas with declining populations. By province, the highest shares of high-demand, low-supply areas were found in Gyeongsangnam-do, followed by Jeollanam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Jeollabuk-do.

Based on the objective data gathered in the survey, the government will begin building a tailored integrated care network in each region in earnest. Local governments plan to draw up regional plans by the end of the year using detailed data. The government also plans to narrow infrastructure gaps by prioritizing the expansion of care centers in areas with weak service provision and geographic accessibility, and by raising the per-unit budget support for region-specific services. The number of home medical centers, which has been far too low relative to demand, will be substantially increased to 650 by 2030. The government will also pursue practical infrastructure upgrades, including expanding the number of dedicated staff for community-based rehabilitation programs at public health centers starting next year.

Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eunkyeong said, "This survey is significant because it analyzed care needs and service provision conditions in every city, county and district nationwide using the same standards, allowing us to identify specifically which service infrastructure needs to be strengthened in each region." She added, "We will ensure that people can receive the medical, long-term care and other support services they need without interruption, wherever they live."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.