The government has announced plans to conduct special health checkups for rural women who have difficulty receiving medical care. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to significantly expand the scale of the ‘Special Health Checkups for Female Farmers’ starting this year and expand the scope of the project nationwide.
Special health checkups are a system introduced to prevent common diseases among rural women. According to recent statistics, the prevalence rates of 7,458 female farmers who received health checkups in 2022 were high in cardiovascular disease and fracture risk. Accordingly, the government will conduct checkups for 10 items in 5 areas: musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, fracture/injury risk, pulmonary function, and pesticide poisoning, and will provide early diagnosis of diseases, follow-up management, preventive education, and specialist consultation.
In addition, the benefits will be expanded by being designated as a special examination institution for female farmers in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This year’s examination target is 30,000 female farmers aged 51 to 70 who were born in even-numbered years, and can receive examinations every two years. The budget was set at 115.4 billion won by 2027, and this year’s budget is 4.3 billion won, a significant increase from last year.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs expects that this will contribute to the promotion of the health of rural women and the prevention of agricultural occupational diseases. It is planned that these results will be used as important basic data for the future health management of farmers. Since the government introduced the special health examination system through the revision of the ‘Female Farmers and Fishermen Promotion Act’ in 2018, it has conducted preliminary examination effect analysis and a two-year pilot project, and has implemented the main project this year. Lee Sang-man, Director of the Rural Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, “We will make sure that all processes are carried out efficiently.”
