Comparative Research for the Healthcare Budget and Burden of Disease in Perspective Resource Allocation

Park, So-Youn; Yoon, Seok-Jun; Park, Hyesook; Jo, Min-Woo; Oh, In-Hwan

Metabolic risks · High fasting plasma glucose · High total cholesterol · High blood pressure · High body mass index · Childhood underweight · Iron deficiency · Others · Alcohol use · Others · Ambient particulate matter pollution Attributable DALY, DALYs/ , persons R&D Cost, in , US dollars 1,000 2,000 3,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 0 cardiovascular disease, cancer, and musculoskeletal diseases accounted for most of the burden of disease. The economic burden of non-communicable diseases in Korea increased by around 65% from 2007 to 2015. 10 For example, mental and behavioral disorders accounted for 6.3% of the total DALYs in 2015. Furthermore, a previous study showed that the burden of disease from Alzheimer's and other dementias increased significantly between 2007 and 2015. 7 Nevertheless, the MOHW R&D budget for non-communicable diseases still favored neoplasms, and the burden of disease as well as other risk factors were not considered. A new process for allocating government's R&D funding that is based on a comprehensive understanding of the disease burden in the Korean population should be seriously considered. Based on this study's analysis of the current allocation scenario, Korean policymakers need to consider how to allocate R&D funds to better match the health realities of the Korean people with important health budgets, which should be designed to reflect the population's needs.