Objectives In rural areas of Korea, where public transportation infrastructure is lacking and alternative systems are poor, the elderly experience inconveniences in using healthcare, although their need is high. This study aimed to analyze the association between the convenience of transportation and unmet healthcare needs among the rural elderly.
Methods The data used were collected in the 2016 Community Health Survey among rural elderly individuals aged 65 or older. Dependent variable was the unmet healthcare needs, explanatory variable was the convenience of transportation. The elderly were divided into 3 groups: with no driver in the household, with a driver, and the elderly individual was the driver (the self-driving group). Covariates were classified into predisposing, enabling, and need factors. They included gender, age, education, income, economic activity, household type, motor ability, subjective health level, number of chronic diseases, anxiety/depression, and pain/discomfort. The data were analyzed using logistic regression and stratification.
Results A significant association was found between the convenience of transportation and unmet healthcare needs. When examined unadjusted odds ratio of the group with a driver in the household, using the group with no driver as a reference, was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to 0.68), while that of the self-driving group was 0.34 (95% CI, 0.30 to 0.38). The odds ratios adjusted for all factors were 0.69 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.80) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.67 to 0.91).
Conclusions We confirmed a significant association between inconvenient transportation and unmet healthcare needs among the rural elderly even after adjustment for existing known factors. This implies that policies aimed at improving healthcare accessibility must consider the means of transportation available.
Summary
Korean summary
대중교통 인프라가 부족하고 대안적 교통수단 체계가 미흡한 농촌 지역 노인들은 의료 필요는 높으나 도보이동이나 불편한 이동수단을 이용하기 어려워 의료이용에 불편을 겪는다. 본 연구는 의료접근성 향상과 불평등한 접근성 문제에 대한 제안의 근거 마련을 목적으로 질병관리본부 지역사회건강조사 데이터를 이용하여 농촌 노인의 이동수단의 편의성과 미충족의료 경험의 연관성을 살펴보았다. 분석결과 농촌지역 노인에게 교통편 불편은 미충족의료 경험의 주된 이유로 나타났고 기존에 알려진 요인들을 보정한 후에도 이동수단의 편의성과 미충족의료 경험 사이에 유의한 관계가 있음을 확인하였다.
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Objectives The purpose of this study was to estimate the mediating effect of subjective unmet healthcare needs on poor health. The mediating effect of unmet needs on health outcomes was estimated.
Methods Cross-sectional research method was used to analyze Korea Health Panel data from 2011 to 2015, investigating the mediating effect for each annual dataset and lagged dependent variables.
Results The magnitude of the effect of low income on poor health and the mediating effect of unmet needs were estimated using age, sex, education level, employment status, healthcare insurance status, disability, and chronic disease as control variables and selfrated health as the dependent variable. The mediating effect of unmet needs due to financial reasons was between 14.7% to 32.9% of the total marginal effect, and 7.2% to 18.7% in lagged model.
Conclusions The fixed-effect logit model demonstrated that the existence of unmet needs raised the likelihood of poor self-rated health. However, only a small proportion of the effects of low income on health was mediated by unmet needs, and the results varied annually. Further studies are necessary to search for ways to explain the varying results in the Korea Health Panel data, as well as to consider a time series analysis of the mediating effect. The results of this study present the clear implication that even though it is crucial to address the unmet needs, but it is not enough to tackle the income related health inequalities.
Summary
Korean summary
이 연구에서는 2011년부터 2015년까지의 한국의료패널 자료를 이용하여 미충족의료과 불건강의 관련성을 살펴보고, 불건강을 매개하는 미충족의료의 크기를 추정했다. 미충족의료는 개인고정효과를 보정하였을 때 불건강에 유의한 영향 준다는 것을 확인할 수 있었고, 미충족의료가 매개하는 저소득의 건강 효과는 저소득이 불건강에 미치는 전체 효과 중 일부에 지나지 않았으며, 효과의 크기는 분석 연도 별로 일정하지 않게 나타났다. 이는 건강불평등을 줄이기 위한 정책 개입에서 미충족의료 해소가 유의미한 정책 목표로 가치가 있지만 그 한계 또한 명확하다는 것을 의미한다.
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