Healthcare utilization among North Korean refugees in South Korea: a mixed methods study

Public health measures on COVID-19 in North Korea: a quantitative analysis of media programmes in 2020-2022

OBJECTIVES

Details regarding the management of COVID-19 in North Korea are unknown. The aim of this paper was to analyse media programmes in North Korea in order to understand public health measures and policies concerning COVID-19.

SETTING

State-run news agency in North Korea.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

The classification of television programmes on COVID-19 broadcast in a state-run news agency, from January 2020 to May 2022, and public health measures introduced in the programmes.

RESULTS

A total of 2671 programmes concerning COVID-19 were included in the study. These programmes provided detailed clinical guidelines to laypeople without medical expertise, including instructions for the usage of medication and preventive measures. An association between the media concern regarding COVID-19 and trade volume, as a proxy of border closure according to the concern of the authorities, provided hints to understand the priorities and aims of the authorities.

CONCLUSIONS

The research outcomes provided significant insights into the effort to understand an impaired healthcare system and prevalent drug abuse behaviours in North Korea. Findings from further studies on the recently collected data might suggest additional implications on the North Korean policies on COVID-19.

Depression in North Korean refugees: a mixed methods study

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to investigate beliefs and experiences about depression in North Korean refugees (NKRs) using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

STUDY DESIGN

We used an exploratory sequential mixed methods study design with a quantitative survey followed by an in-depth individual interview.

METHODS

We surveyed 329 NKRs who had been in South Korea for at least a year. Eleven participants were selected from the survey sample to complete an additional individual in-depth interview to obtain further understanding about depression among NKRs in their own words and context.

RESULTS

About 44% of the sample had mild to severe depression; only 16% indicated that they were being treated for mood disorder. Individual in-depth interviews yielded key themes related to NKRs' depression beliefs and experiences: recognizing depression, factors contributing to depression, overcoming depression, and barriers to seeking help and treatment. Integration of quantitative and qualitative data revealed that although loneliness was one of the prominent subthemes contributing to depression, strong self-determination was noted as being critical to overcoming depression among those who had moderate to moderately severe depression but had no social support.

CONCLUSIONS

Future efforts should be directed toward an enhanced support network and targeted education about the South Korean healthcare system, particularly in relation to mental health treatment.