Gwanak-gu's All-Out Effort to Prevent Solitary Deaths... What Are the Measures?

Thorough Measures Including Intensive Monitoring of High-Risk Solitary Death Groups, Reinforcement of Dedicated Personnel for Welfare Checks, and Operation of Welfare Check Services

South Korea is currently becoming increasingly disconnected. According to a survey on solitary deaths conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare last year, the number of solitary deaths over the past five years increased from 2,412 in 2018 to 3,378 in 2021, showing an average annual growth rate of about 8.8%. Establishing an administrative system to protect residents from social isolation is urgently needed.

In response, Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Junhee) analyzed data on solitary deaths up to August and selected three high-risk neighborhoods within the district. Considering various factors affecting solitary deaths (▲low income ▲complex and chronic diseases ▲vulnerable residences ▲age and gender factors, etc.), a list of 630 high-risk individuals was extracted.

Among them, 359 individuals who require assistance were identified due to inadequate health management, such as skipping meals or arbitrarily discontinuing medication despite having chronic or mental illnesses.

The district has prepared an additional supplementary budget for the second half of the year to double the number of beneficiaries of the “Happy One Meal Sharing” program, which supports socially isolated vulnerable groups with ready-to-eat meals, to help these individuals achieve a healthy diet as soon as possible.

Additionally, for the 630 high-risk individuals and others, a total of 596 cases of integrated health and welfare services were supported, including ▲non-face-to-face “Smart Check-in Service” using smart technology ▲strengthening the dedicated home visit personnel “Hello Caregiver” to foster interpersonal bonds and build community awareness.

Furthermore, efforts are being made to proactively identify and provide welfare services to at-risk households through initiatives such as ▲“Juju Day,” a day when residents look after each other ▲formation of a solitary death prevention council ▲“Shintongbangtong Welfare Platform” in cooperation with the Gwanak-gu branch of the Korea Association of Certified Realtors to discover crisis households ▲distribution of “Safe Companion Potted Plants” to solitary death risk groups.

As a result, Gwanak-gu achieved the honor of being selected as an “Excellent Case of Active Administration in the Second Half of 2023” by Seoul City. In particular, it was recognized for its contribution to establishing an administrative system to prevent solitary deaths, and is preparing to enact an ordinance next year to implement a “Crisis Household Discovery Reporter Reward System” for more effective identification of welfare blind spots.

Park Junhee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, “Our proactive administration, unique to Gwanak-gu, which thoroughly analyzes the characteristics and needs of isolated households and listens directly to residents’ voices by going out into the field, has received high praise. Preventing solitary deaths is both the responsibility and destiny of the Gwanak community, and in-depth and proactive consideration on this matter will continue.”

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