The use of evidence in decision-making in the context of Korean healthcare: a review

This paper examines some examples of not well integrating evidence into healthcare decision-making within the Republic of Korea, a nation characterized by a rapidly evolving and financially strained healthcare system. The review introduces various conceptual frameworks of evidence-based practice, including Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), Evidence-Based Public Health (EBPH), and Evidence-Based Health Policy (EBHP), alongside a nuanced typology of scientific (context-free and context-sensitive) and colloquial evidence. Through brief literature reviews, the paper identifies significant barriers and crucial facilitators to effective evidence utilization. These include deficiencies in research infrastructure, accessibility gaps, the influence of political and value-based considerations, and the pervasive challenge of "decision-based evidence making." The report concludes by proposing actionable recommendations aimed at strengthening the evidence ecosystem, fostering deliberative processes, enhancing Health Technology Assessment (HTA) integration, and cultivating a robust culture of evidence-informed policy-making in Korea.