Health Levels and Behaviors Including Smoking and Obesity Rates: Seoul Ranks First
Seocho-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced on the 12th that it has been selected as an 'Excellent Local Government in the 2nd Year of the 8th Regional Health Care Plan Implementation' and will receive a commendation from the Minister of Health and Welfare on the 14th.
In this evaluation, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reviewed regional health care plans to efficiently carry out local health projects and selected 26 cities, provinces, and districts as excellent local governments out of 243 local governments nationwide.
Seocho-gu was praised for "analyzing the 2023 implementation results concretely and comprehensively and deriving appropriate improvement measures to be relevantly reflected in the 2024 implementation plan."
The regional health care plan is the highest-level plan that establishes a plan tailored to local conditions to improve the quality of residents' health care services and promote residents' health, presenting a mid- to long-term health care vision. A mid- to long-term plan is established every four years, and an implementation plan is established annually accordingly.
Seocho-gu emphasized that it aims to be a "Healthy City Seocho Made Together" by presenting four promotion strategies to extend residents' healthy life expectancy and enhance health equity: ▲ strengthening health management services focused on vulnerable groups ▲ enhancing infectious disease management and health care capabilities ▲ promoting residents' health through customized and integrated services ▲ creating a health-friendly environment and strengthening cooperation systems.
Additionally, the district explained that it has continuously strived to realize a "healthy city" by establishing diverse and systematic resident health improvement plans such as the nation's largest metabolic syndrome management project, the nation's first dementia-safe house operation, and leading nationwide smoking cessation policies.
According to the 2023 "Community Health Survey (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency)," the first year of the 8th regional health care plan implementation, Seocho-gu currently maintains top rankings nationwide and first place within Seoul in health levels and behaviors such as smoking rate, high-risk drinking rate, and obesity rate.
Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, "I am pleased that the comprehensive plan established by the district to improve residents' health has been recognized through this Ministry of Health and Welfare evaluation," and added, "We will promote health care policies that residents can feel and create a 'Healthy City Seocho Made Together.'"
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