New Findings on Biosocial Science from Department of Health Administration Summarized (The association of health care access and utilization with self-perceived health in South Korea: the significance of age)

Insurance Daily News

2019 MAY 31 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on Science - Biosocial Science have been published. According to news reporting originating in Seoul, South Korea, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Even though South Korea’s universal health care system was established in 1989, many South Koreans continue to encounter obstacles in their attempts to access health care. Previous studies have not investigated the relationship between health care access and utilization and perceived health in the context of a universal health care system that implements a mandatory social health insurance policy.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the Department of Health Administration, “The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of health care access and use of preventive health care services on self-rated health among young and middle-aged adults in Korea. The sample consisted of 1242 young adults aged 20-39 years and 2389 middle-aged adults aged 40-64 years who had participated in the cross-sectional 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, the association between health care access and use of preventive health care services and perceived poor health among young adults and middle-aged adults was assessed. The main finding was that a history of unmet health care requirements during the past 12 months was strongly associated with fair and poor self-rated health, especially among young adults. Additionally, middle-aged adults who had attended medical check-ups during the preceding 2 years reported poorer self-rated health. This study’s findings suggest that, despite South Korea’s universal public insurance system, there remains the need to improve access to health care services, especially among young adults.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “As a health improvement strategy, it is imperative that measures be taken to promote the availability of health care services when they are required and to solve any of the various individual accessibility problems, such as cost, particularly with young adults in mind.”

For more information on this research see: The association of health care access and utilization with self-perceived health in South Korea: the significance of age. Journal of Biosocial Science, 2019;():1-13. (Cambridge University Press - www.cambridge.org; Journal of Biosocial Science - http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JBS)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting S.M. Park, Dept. of Health Administration, Hanyang Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021932019000191. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.