Development of a Smart Monitoring System for Isolated Health Centers Considering Climate Change

Global climate change is causing various disasters and exacerbating health threats. In particular, the incidence of climate-sensitive diseases is increasing, and early warning of these phenomena is expected through integrated analysis of meteorological observations and disease outbreak trends. Meanwhile, isolated areas in developing countries, where healthcare infrastructure is lacking and access to the national power grid is limited, face significant challenges in predicting and responding to climate-sensitive diseases. North Korea, in particular, is known to have a high proportion of mountainous terrain, an underdeveloped national power grid, and poor health conditions at public health centers essential for the health of its residents. This study proposes a smart monitoring system that can secure the power infrastructure necessary for operating public health centers in isolated areas of developing countries, such as North Korea, and collect meteorological data that can be used to predict climate-sensitive diseases. Designed with the communication characteristics of remote areas, the smart monitoring system was installed at a public health center in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, which has a similar environment to North Korea, and its feasibility was verified. The smart monitoring system developed through this study was utilized to obtain climate-sensitive disease prediction data and to estimate the amount of solar power generation required to operate remote protection centers. This system is expected to be useful in predicting climate-sensitive diseases and securing the power infrastructure necessary for medical activities in various isolated areas.