Social Problems Arising from the Transition to an Aging Society

Korea has entered an aged society as the proportion of people aged 65 and older exceeded 14% of the total population in 2017. Major social challenges associated with population aging include an increasing burden of chronic diseases, mental health issues and emotional isolation among older adults, a growing gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, and widening health disparities due to unequal access to healthcare resources. In this context, “successful aging” or “healthy aging” has become a critical societal priority, requiring new educational and research strategies.

Limitations of the Development of Personalized Medical Technologies in Addressing Aging-Society Challenges

Recent advances in big data and data science have led to the development of precision medicine and other personalized healthcare technologies. However, these approaches still face several limitations in addressing the challenges of an aging society. First, despite strong evidence that environmental factors play a major role in disease development, current medical approaches remain largely focused on individual-level -omics data and clinical information. Second, precision medicine is primarily oriented toward treatment rather than prevention. Third, advanced medical technologies tend to be accessible only to populations with sufficient resources, thereby exacerbating health inequalities.

Precision Public Health: Integration of Science & Technology and Public Health Science

To overcome the limitations of current healthcare systems and address aging-related social challenges, it is essential to integrate science and technology fields such as biomedical science, biomedical engineering, and data science with public Health Science aimed at improving population health and reducing health disparities. This integrated approach, known as Precision Public Health, is based on the 3P framework (Precision, Prevention, Population) and aims to enhance population health through optimized preventive interventions tailored to different groups. This research and education group aims to respond to the challenges of an aging society by integrating public health with advanced technologies in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, thereby pioneering education and research in Precision Public Health

Beyond the Uncertainty Principle: Korea University Precision Public Health Convergent Research and Talent Development Program

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, introduced in 1927, suggests that increasing the precision of one variable necessarily leads to the loss of precision in another. This concept is analogous to a limitation in precision medicine, where improvements at the individual level may unintentionally increase disparities at the population level. This educational research group aims to overcome such trade-offs.

The educational research group has established an interdisciplinary program in Precision Public Health that brings together four departments within the College of Health Science—Biomedical Engineering, Biosystems and Biomedical Science, Environmental Health Science, and Health Policy and Management—along with an AI department and a Global Health collaborative program. This initiative forms a highly interdisciplinary educational structure designed to advance precision public health on a global scale.

Addressing the challenges of an aging society implies integrating technology-driven innovation based on precision with public health agendas grounded in equity, ultimately moving toward a “society of health for all.” In this context, the educational research group aims to train experts in Precision Public Health who possess the capabilities to address global aging-related challenges through science and technology, thereby establishing a vision for a healthier and more equitable society.