Patient and public involvement

The Korean government anonymised all patient related data, including personal identification numbers, to enhance confidentiality. While direct identification of individuals was rendered impossible due to the removal of names, all other pertinent data remained intact and accessible for our analyses. Due to the database containing data for the national population, access was limited to participating researchers only for security and confidentiality purposes. The research questions and outcome measures were independently determined without the involvement of the children or their parents. The study design and implementation were conducted without consultation. In South Korea, no framework for the management of patient and public involvement has been established. However, the results of the study will be officially registered and released to NHIS (the official institutions of the Korean government) and we plan to disseminate the results of this study to all study participants and wider relevant communities on request.