Wando-gun Wins 'Excellence Award' for Mental Health Promotion Project

COVID-19 Psychological Quarantine Measures 'Elderly Depression Prevention Management' Receive High Scores

Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 29th that it received the Grand Prize at the ‘2023 Jeonnam Public Health Care Performance Competition’ held on the 24th to discover high-quality public health care projects through sharing excellent cases of public health care projects.

For excellent cases of public health care projects, 20 projects from 12 institutions were submitted, and after a document review, a total of 4 projects were selected.

Wando-gun presented on the theme of ‘COVID-19 Psychological Quarantine Measures for Preventing and Managing Depression in the Elderly’ and received high scores, winning the ‘Grand Prize’.

Wando County is taking a commemorative photo after receiving the 'Excellence Award' for the mental health promotion project.
[Photo by Wando County]

The county promoted mental health services linked with community resources for subjects in blind spots where depression could be neglected, including △ visiting elderly depression screening △ first and second screenings for high-risk groups △ outpatient psychiatric treatment △ visiting mobile clinics in island areas with mental health doctors △ operation of elderly depression and suicide prevention programs.

According to the ‘2021 Community Health Survey’ statistics, the depression experience rate in Wando-gun is 12%, which is higher than Jeonnam’s 6.4%. Especially, those aged 65 and over account for 49.1%.

The estimated number of dementia patients is 2,150, with a prevalence rate of 10.2%, and the number of dementia patients managed by Wando-gun is 1,520.

Lee Hong-yong, Director of Health Promotion Division, said, “Next year, to promote the psychological well-being of residents and create a dementia-friendly environment, we plan to designate the Marine Healing Center as a ‘Dementia Marine Healing Specialized Institution’ and operate customized programs for dementia-vulnerable groups and high-risk mental health groups.” He added, “We will actively promote mental health care projects to help local residents lead healthy lives.”

Wando = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil just8440@asiae.co.kr