Busan City Promotes Frailty Prevention Project ‘Body Up Mind Up Relationship Up’

Busan City is implementing a wise strategy to prepare for a super-aged society.

Busan City Hall.

On the 27th, Busan City will sign a ‘Frailty Prevention Cooperation System Agreement’ with Busan National University Hospital (Director Jeong Seong-woon).

‘Frailty’ refers to a condition in which degenerative changes in organs or tissues progress significantly due to aging, making it difficult to maintain homeostasis and causing physical weakness due to decreased function.

This agreement was established to define cooperation between institutions for the smooth implementation of the frailty prevention project ‘Body up, Mind up, Relationship up,’ which supports healthy aging and social networks for the elderly.

The ‘Frailty Prevention Project’ is a program provided at village health centers, which have high utilization and accessibility among the elderly population aged 65 and over, offering ▲appropriate exercise prescriptions and diet plans through physical function assessments (frailty screening tests) ▲depression screening and linkage with related institutions ▲social network recovery support programs.

Busan City, the first among the seven metropolitan cities and provinces to enter a super-aged society, initiated this project due to the ongoing need for continuous disease management so that citizens can enjoy a healthy life into their 100s.

According to this agreement, ▲Busan City will provide physical function assessments (frailty screening tests), elderly depression tests, and social network assessments at 74 village health centers, which are community-based health promotion institutions, supporting healthy aging and social network formation through customized interventions. ▲Busan National University Hospital will support training for village health center staff by rehabilitation medicine specialists and intervention programs, and continuously provide tailored support through data analysis.

Starting with this agreement, from October, the frailty prevention project will be piloted at four village health centers in Yeongju 1-dong, Jung-gu; Uam-dong, Nam-gu; Myeongjang 1-dong, Dongnae-gu; and Geoje 4-dong, Yeonje-gu, with plans to expand to all 74 village health centers next year.

Since 36.2% of elderly people aged 65 and over are registered and managed at village health centers, these centers are expected to serve not only as providers of basic health promotion programs but also as platforms for elderly health management.

Lee So-ra, Director of the Citizen Health Bureau, stated, “Busan has already entered a super-aged society, requiring diverse and intensive projects and policy and institutional support for the elderly. Through this agreement, the advantages of village health centers, where 36.2% of the elderly population receive routine care, combined with the expertise of Busan National University and various intervention programs, are expected to help citizens lead healthier lives and strengthen social networks.”

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