A Study on the Research Trends of Healthy Cities in Korea (1990-2014)

Kim, Ha Yun; Park, Myung Bae; Nam, Eun Woo

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Healthy cities of Korea have engaged in various activities regarding the Korea Healthy Cities Partnership, and research activities on healthy cities is one of the important area. In the present context, due to the current policy to pursue Sustainable Development Goals locally and globally, it is essential to emphasize the importance of healthy city. Therefore, it is important to identify the research trend related to healthy city. The aim of this study was to find out research trend of healthy city studies from 1990 to 2014 by reviewing published papers and studies systematically. Based on the finding of the study, the necessary implications on future research directions of the healthy city are obtained.
METHODS
The area of this study is domestic journal (Korea), international journal, thesis, and research report focusing on healthy city from 1990 to 2014. The selection of data was performed using keyword is based on domestic and international database. The analysis criteria were divided into year of publication, type of study, subjects, study methods, and study area.
RESULTS
One hundred twenty papers were selected for the analysis. Papers related to the healthy city issue were published 4.8 times in an average in a year during that the period. However, the number of papers published increased dramatically in the recent 4 years. Of total, 28 papers (44.4%) focused on the healthy city policy and urban environmental improvement, 18 papers (28.6%) focused on health promotion, and the remaining were program centered. Most papers (71 out of 120) used quantitative study methods. Of total studies, studies have conducted in Jinju city (9), Wonju city (8), Changwon city (6) and Gangnam-gu (5), respectively, as a study area of healthy city.
CONCLUSION
First, domestic healthy city researches has been gradually increasing every year, over the past 10 years which has heightened interest in healthy cities. Second, the expansion of the various areas of research is required in order to contribute to future sustainable healthy city. Third, in recent years, by taking advantage of a variety of research methods, conducting the qualitative and mixed method research is considered to be a desirable change.