A study for improving management and operation of National Health Promotion Fund

Abstract

National Health Promotion Fund was founded in 1995 based on National Health Promotion Act and mostly funded by tobacco tax. It has played an important role in distribution and development of health promotion programme in Korea. However, there are several issues to be resolved in management of the fund. First of all, legislation for spending ?the ?fund is not clear. Also, it is insufficient to utilize the fund directly for health promotion, since significant portion of the fund has been spending on other indirect purposes -such as health insurance support, R&D for health industry, funding medical fees for certain diseases, and support for Korean Center for Disease Control. The allocation for health improvement including?health promotion?researches and activities to expand of?healthy lifestyle?is rather a small part of the fund. Moreover, the outcomes of existing researches are not fully utilized and expanded. This study is to review current status and problems of National Health Promotion Fund and to suggest policy options for improving management of the fund, also its development strategies. The method adopted in this study includes analysis of administration data and budgetary document, review of existing literature associated with National Health Promotion Fund, survey of experts’ opinions, and comparison with other countries`s health promotion foundation such as Australia’s, Thailand’s, and Switzerland’s. This study suggests five recommendations for effective operation of National Health Promotion Fund and its development strategies. First, it is necessary to enhance the status of health promotion fund committee in order to establish effective governance system and control tower of Health Promotion Fund. Second, it is recommend to revising legislation that defines the scope of application and priority of spending health promotion fund. The portion to support health insurance and other purposes such as budget use of?general accounting programs out of the fund should be reduced step by step. Third, public acknowledgement of health promotion programme should be expanded through wide range of promotional activities including media/non-media, social marketing, and nationwide campaign to emphasize and promote healthy life practices. Fourth, It is required to expand health promotion research, establish quality management system and monitor performance of health promotion programmes. Finally, to effectively activate all aforementioned recommendations, it is necessary to reform National Health Promotion Act and enact its managerial regulation.