A policy review of the process of the Integrated Nursing Care Service System in South Korea

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to analyse the policy formation process of South Korean Integrated Nursing Care Service System (INCSS).

Background: Due to the shortage of chronic nursing staff in Korea, many nursing services have been overlooked, which has led to a customary caregiving culture that relied on inpatient families. To improve this, Korea legislated the INCSS in 2015.

Methods: This study retrospectively analysed policy formation process of the INCSS using Kingdon's Multiple-Streams Framework from on-offline materials generated between 1994 and 2015.

Results: The caregiving culture, which was raised as one of the main causes of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection spread, has garnered intensive attention from media and politicians. The streams of problem, politics and policy that each flowed independently were coupled, the policy window finally opened leading to successful legislation.

Conclusions: The leading political activities of the United Healthcare Civic-Group, in which general nurses were the core, were effective in introducing the system.

Implications for nursing management: This study's results could be used for promoting hospital-based healthcare policy intervention by enhancing general nurses' political competence.