Abstract
Background“Unmet healthcare needs” refers to the situation in which patients or citizens cannot fulfill their medical needs, likely due to socioeconomic reasons. The purpose of this study was to analyze factors related to unmet healthcare needs among South Korean adults.MethodsWe used a retrospective cross-sectional study design. This nationwide-based study included the data of 26,598 participants aged 19 years and older, which were obtained from the 2013–2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Using multiple logistic regression models, we analyzed the associations between factors that influence unmet healthcare needs and participants’ subgroups.ResultsDespite South Korea’s universal health insurance system, in 2017, 9.5% of South Koreans experienced unmet healthcare needs. In both the male and female groups, younger people (age 19–39) had a higher odds ratio (OR) of experiencing unmet healthcare needs compared to older people (reference: age ≥ 60) (men: OR 1.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35–2.48; women: OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.12–1.81). In particular, unlike men, women’s unmet healthcare needs increased as their incomes decreased (1 quartile OR 1.55, 2 quartiles OR 1.29, 3 quartiles OR 1.26). Men and women showed a tendency to have more unmet healthcare needs with less exercise, worse subjective health state, worse pain, and a higher degree of depression.ConclusionsThe contributing factors of unmet healthcare needs included having a low socioeconomic status, high stress, severe pain, and severe depression. Considering our findings, we suggest improving healthcare access for those with low socioeconomic status.
Highlights
Developing and updating policies related to healthcare access are important objectives for improving healthcare equity in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries
In both the male and female groups, younger people had a higher odds ratio (OR) of experiencing unmet healthcare needs compared to older people
Policies that focus on the enabling factors, low socioeconomic status, should be improved Our results demonstrated that unemployment, low income, and blue-collar jobs are more likely to result in unmet healthcare needs (Table 4)
Summary
Developing and updating policies related to healthcare access are important objectives for improving healthcare equity in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Between 2016 and 2017, the rates of unmet healthcare needs across 27 European countries declined from 2.6% to 1% [9] Multiple organizations, such as the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), the Community Health Survey (CHS), the Korea Health Panel Survey, and the Korean Welfare Panel Study, have performed secondary data analyses of “unmet healthcare needs” to determine the healthcare status in South Korea. This refers to a situation in which patients or citizens cannot fulfill their medical needs, most likely due to socioeconomic reasons. KNHANES reported that the rate of unmet healthcare needs in South Korea is steadily declining, falling from 22% in 2007 to 8.8% in 2017 [10]
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