Studies from Yonsei University Yield New Information about Disability Research (Healthcare Use Among Persons With Visual Impairment: Difference-in-difference Estimations)

2019 MAY 08 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Data detailed on Disability Research have been presented. According to news reporting originating in Incheon, South Korea, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Studies on healthcare service use among persons with visual impairments in countries with different healthcare systems are needed for drawing global inferences. The goal was to assess the impact of visual impairment on healthcare service use.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Yonsei University, “A retrospective cohort study on health insurance claims data from the National Health Insurance System (NHIS) was conducted. All data from 2002 to 2013 for 2206 and 8824 persons with and without visual impairments, respectively, were extracted and aggregated monthly, generating a total of 162,876 and 568,459 person-month observations, respectively. The dependent variable was total expenditures. Difference-in-difference estimations based on a multivariate log-normal random-effect regression were employed. Persons with visual impairments spent 5.7% and 6.8% more on total healthcare expenditures per month and outpatient healthcare expenditures, respectively, than those without visual impairments, after adjusting for pre-impairment differences. Further results revealed an upward trend in expenditures, particularly among those with visual impairments; this increase was the highest during the year prior impairment (approximately 32% and 21% more for total and outpatient services, respectively, compared with baseline). Inpatient healthcare expenditures showed a similar increase (by approximately 26%) during the year prior impairment compared with baseline; however, the magnitude dropped to approximately 14% and 6% during the 1st and 2nd years of impairment, respectively. Conversely, the annual pattern of expenditure increase was parallel over time for persons without visual impairments, regardless of service.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Our findings suggest a need for health management and effective care use, particularly the year prior to visual impairment onset.”

For more information on this research see: Healthcare Use Among Persons With Visual Impairment: Difference-in-difference Estimations. Disability and Health Journal, 2019;12(2):302-309. Disability and Health Journal can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Disability and Health Journal - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/disability-and-health-journal/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting E. Han, Yonsei University, Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, 162-1 Songdo Dong, Incheon 21983, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include T.H. Kim and H. Koo.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2018.11.010. 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.

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