Health status and health services utilization in elderly Koreans.

Ju Moon Park

doi:10.1186/s12939-014-0073-7

Abstract

BackgroundKorea is aging faster than any other country as the ‘baby boomers’ grow older. The purpose of this study is to describe the health status and health services utilization of older Koreans and examine the factors that are associated with effective health services utilization.MethodsBased on the 2008 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing which was conducted with Korean men and women aged 45 years or older, descriptive and logistic regression analysis was performed. The sample for this study was 4040 individuals who indicated they were 65 years or older. Bivariate analyses (chi-square tests) were used to examine the differences between men and women. Logistic regression analyses were then used to determine factors significantly associated with health services utilization.ResultsMore women (29.3%) than men (14.5%) rated their health as poor or very poor. A significantly higher number of women than men reported having hypertension, arthritis or heart disease, while a larger number of men reported having cancer or lung problems. Age, education, income, and presence of chronic conditions significantly predicted the residents’ self-rated health. Respondents with chronic conditions were twice as likely to report self-rated poor health (Odds Ratio: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.91-2.67) than residents with no chronic conditions. Those who were more likely to have used primary care services, such as a physician or traditional Korean medicine, included those 80 and older, men, those who had a chronic condition or poor health status, and lower-income individuals.ConclusionsRespondents with poor health status were significantly older, less-educated, poorer and had a higher rate of chronic conditions. Health-related need factors and income were important predictors of Korean elders using physician services and/or traditional Korean medicine. This study provides an important contribution to the knowledge base of Korean elders. The findings show that elders in poor health status were significantly older and poorer, with higher rates of chronic conditions and health services utilization, which should help in the health care planning required to address this issue.

Highlights

Korea is aging faster than any other country as the ‘baby boomers’ grow older
As this study shows with the finding of the high prevalence of uracratia, arthritis and hypertension, self-care and early screenings are very important for this population
Prompt public measures are requested to control chronic conditions since they are associated with worsening health of Korean elders

Summary

Introduction

Korea is aging faster than any other country as the ‘baby boomers’ grow older. The purpose of this study is to describe the health status and health services utilization of older Koreans and examine the factors that are associated with effective health services utilization. Rapid aging means that the population’s health burden is likely to worsen, as older people tend to spend a greater proportion on health care than other sectors of the population, and will continue to require such a high level of spending for their health care needs in the future This implies that the Korean health care system needs to be reformed so as to be able to provide sufficient care for the increasing needs of the elderly [4]. The pain suffered from arthritis negatively affects the overall quality of life, and the health care costs for hypertension and diabetes were ranked the first and the third highest in Korea, respectively [6,7] Both the visible and hidden costs of such chronic conditions are largely borne by the elderly themselves, various groups have argued that society should bear the cost [8]

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