Department of Health Convergence Student Jiye Kim Receives Grand Prize at the 51st Korean Public Health Conference Stude N
- Date2026.06.11
- 225
iye Kim, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Health Convergence at Ewha Womans University (Ph.D., Department of Health Convergence, Graduate School, February 2026; advisor: Professor Hye-Kyung Kim), received the Grand Prize (Minister of Health and Welfare Award) at the Student Research Competition of the 51st Korean Public Health Conference, organized by the Korean Public Health Association. Kim was recognized for presenting her study, “Development of a Digital Behavioral Intervention Program to Improve Reward-Related Eating Behavior in Adult Women: Application of a Mixed Methods Experimental Design.”
The Korean Public Health Conference is one of the nation’s leading academic events in the field of public health and is jointly hosted each year by member societies of the Korean Public Health Association. Marking its 51st year, the conference was held under the theme “Super-Aged Society and Public Health Responses,” reflecting the enactment and implementation of the government’s Community Integrated Care Support Act. Sixteen major public health societies and organizations participated in this year’s event. The conference featured research findings across a wide range of fields, including health policy, health promotion, preventive medicine, epidemiology, health education, and community health.
At the Student Research Competition, Kim presented a study focusing on reward-related eating behavior, one of the obesity-related eating behavior issues commonly observed among adult women. Rather than viewing reward-related eating behavior solely as a pathological problem, the study approached it as a health behavior issue that can be improved through repeated support and self-regulation within the context of everyday life. The research was highly regarded for its development, implementation, and evaluation of a digital behavioral intervention program based on Social Cognitive Theory using a mixed methods experimental design.
Kim stated, “I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to present my doctoral dissertation research before public health researchers and practitioners from across Korea and to receive the Grand Prize, the Minister of Health and Welfare Award. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Professor Hye-Kyung Kim for her guidance and to the Department of Health Convergence for providing the educational and research foundation that enabled me to develop my professional competencies as a health educator from my undergraduate years through my doctoral studies. Moving forward, I hope to continue conducting research on women’s health, obesity-related eating behaviors, smoking cessation, and other everyday health behavior changes, while contributing to the development of effective health promotion interventions utilizing digital technologies.”
The Department of Health Convergence at Ewha Womans University cultivates professionals capable of contributing to healthcare practice and policy through interdisciplinary education and research spanning public health, health promotion, smoking cessation, digital health, and health behavior interventions. This award is regarded as a meaningful achievement demonstrating the potential of health convergence research to support positive health behavior changes in everyday life through theory-based public health intervention development and evidence-based research.