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The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the Republic of Korea's Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM). This study aims to examine the Republic of Korea's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on Health-EDRM, especially human resources, health services, and logistics. Challenges in the Republic of Korea, including lack of medical workforce, confused risk communication, shortage of hospital beds, and inefficient distribution of medical resources, have been highlighted in this paper in terms of human resources, health service delivery, and logistics, which are components of Health-EDRM. It is essential to address the cooperation between the government and private sectors, the protection of occupational health and safety of medical staff during the pandemic, and strategies and technologies to scale up the health facilities, to respond to a future crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in developed countries. Treatment-related lymphedema negatively affects the quality of life and function of patients. This study investigated the cumulative incidence and risk factors of, and utilization of health care resources for, lymphedema in patients with endometrial cancer. Methods: We conducted a nationwide, retrospective cohort study of women with endometrial cancer who underwent cancer-direct treatment using the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database. Patients were categorized by age, region, income, and treatment modality. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze the incidence and risk factors of lymphedema. We also analyzed utilization of health care resources for lymphedema using diagnostic and treatment claim codes. Results: A total of 19,027 patients with endometrial cancer were evaluated between January 2004 and December 2017. Among them, 2493 (13.1%) developed lymphedema. Age (<40 years, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1 vs. 40–59 years, aOR = 1.413; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.203–1.66 vs. 60+ years, aOR = 1.472; 95% CI 1.239–1.748) and multimodal treatment (surgery only, aOR = 1 vs. surgery + radiation + chemotherapy, aOR = 2.571; 95% CI 2.27–2.912) are considered to be possible risk factors for lymphedema in patients with endometrial cancer (p < 0.001). The utilization of health care resources for the treatment of lymphedema has increased over the years. Conclusions: Lymphedema is a common complication affecting women with endometrial cancer and leads to an increase in national healthcare costs. Post-treatment surveillance of lymphedema, especially in high-risk groups, is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]