• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.667-676
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of childbirth on socioeconomic status changes of women. Data were collected from Korean Health Panel (2008-2015). A difference-in-differences model with propensity score matching was applied to assess the impact of childbirth on socioeconomic status changes. As a result, variables showing significant differences in the interaction terms indicating the impact of birth were the savings, economic activity, and occupational status. The impact of birth were significant in decreasing the amount of savings and negatively affecting women's economic activities, but in increasing the probability of full-time and regular employees in occupational status. Childbirth appears to have a negative impact on the home economics and socioeconomic status of women. The belief that home economies can be stabilized even after childbirth should be established, and a long-term and sustained support plan should be set up to realize this belief.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2023

Objectives: This study used the 2018 Korea Health Panel Survey data to analyze factors affecting employment status and income relating to unmet dental and medical care needs. Additionally it investigated measures to reduce oral health inequality among various socioeconomic classes. Methods: Descriptive statistics for the subjects' unmet dental and medical care needs were calculated through chi-square test analysis, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify factors affecting the unmet dental and medical care needs. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated for each level. These data were analyzed using STATA 17.0 SE (64-bit) version, and the statistical significance level was set to p<0.05. Results: As a result of unmet dental and medical care needs according to general characteristics, the lower the education level (p<0.001), the higher the age (p<0.001) and the lower the household equalization income (p<0.024) and the smoker status (p<0.003) were, respectively. Factors that have a statistically significant impact on unmet dental and medical care needs were divorce, separation and bereavement (p<0.001) in individuals than in married persons, and being smokers than non-smokers (p<0.009). The frequency of unmet dental and medical care needs were found to be lower in the cases of a high school graduate than an elementary school graduate (p<0.018), and of higher household equalization income (p<0.001) than the lowest household equalization income, respectively. Conclusions: It was found that various factors such as age, education level, household equalization income, employment status, type of working hours type, and smoking status affect unmet dental and medical care needs.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.282-292
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• 2022

Background: Aging societies face social problems of increased medical expenses for older adults due to increased geriatric diseases. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the state change of multiple chronic conditions (MCC) and out-of-pocket medical expenses in the elderly aged 60 or older. Methods: The 2014-2018 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging data were used for 2,202 elderly people. Four status change groups were established according to the change in the number of chronic diseases. The association between the change of MCC and the out-of-pocket medical cost was analyzed using the generalized estimating equation model analysis. Results: The average out-of-pocket total medical costs were 1,384,900 won for participants with MCC and 542,700 won for those without MCC, which was a statistically significant difference (p<0.0001). Compared to the reference group (simple chronic disease, SCD→SCD), the change in multiple chronic conditions significantly increased the total out-of-pocket medical expenses in MCC→MCC and SCD→MCC groups (MCC→MCC: 𝛽=0.8260, p<0.0001; SCD→MCC: 𝛽=0.6607, p<0.0001). Conclusion: In this study, it was confirmed that the prevalence of MCC increased with age, and the out-of-pocket medical cost increased in the case of MCC. Continuity of treatment can be achieved for patients with MCC, and the system and management of treatment for MCC are required to receive appropriate treatment.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.782-793
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• 2022

The rise in chronic disease not only has a negative effect on people's lives, but it also increases the cost of medical care owing to the increased usage of medical care as health and medical technology improves, life expectancy rises, and rapid population ageing. In such context, this study examined the difference in the disease cost of hypertension according to demographic information and the effect of the initial diagnosis age and treatment period on the cost. This study used the Korean Health Panel Survey from 2010 to 2017, and selected subjects based on health insurance beneficiaries between the ages of 30 and under 80. With the selected data, the direct and indirect costs of disease loss were calculated according to the cost of illness approach, and we constructed a disease-loss ratio cohort considering the age of diagnosis and time of treatment for hypertension. From the results of the study, the annual cost of disease loss for hypertensive patients differed by gender by 110,107 won, and it was found that the cost increased by 1.8 times as the treatment time increased. In addition, when comparing disease loss ratios between the same age groups, it was found that the disease loss ratios between those in their 60s and 70s were affected by treatment time. This study confirmed that hypertension significantly affects the cost of the disease, and not only requires early diagnosis and management, but also preventive efforts to lower the incidence of hypertensive disease must be strengthened.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2017

Purposes: Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that requires continuous care in order to prevent complications, as it can impose a critical burden on families and society due to various complications, including terminal renal failure, non-traumatic lower extremity amputation, and adult blindness. The usual sources of care are "specified private clinics, public health centers, or other facilities to visit when ill or when health-related advice is needed". These usual sources of care offer preventative services, have a high overall satisfaction rate in terms of public health care, and decrease the inpatient rates and medical costs of medical aid recipients. This study analyzed the current status of diabetic patients over 20 years of age based on their possession of a usual source of care, and the effects of this possession on the frequency of their medical service usage and its costs. Methodology: Based on data from the 7th Korea Health Panel, a Tobit analysis was used to analyze the different factors that can affect the frequency of medical service usage and its costs for diabetic patients with and without a usual source of care. Findings: The medical costs of diabetic patients with a usual source of care decreased in terms of inpatient, and the outpatient visits and inpatient costs of the group with a usual source of care in the form of a mainly-visiting doctor decreased more than those of the group with a mainly-visiting medical institution only. Practical Implications: Having a usual source of care can increase the treatment continuity, leading to reduced inpatient, and having a mainly-visiting doctor as the usual source of care further increases the treatment continuity. Based on these results, a new policy is needed to increase and strengthen diabetic patients? possession of a usual source of care.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.68 no.3
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• pp.5-27
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• 2016

In this study, we examine differences in the children's medical utilization by family structure with a focus on single-mother and single-father families using data from the Korean Health Panel Survey, years 2008~2012. We also investigate whether the cause of transition into a single-parent household, whether coresidence with children's grandparents, and number of siblings are associated with children's use of ambulatory visits. The main findings of this study are as follows. First, children who grew up in single-father households had fewer ambulatory visits compared to those living with both parents after controlling for children's demographic characteristics and family backgrounds. Second, coresidence with grandparents was not associated with children's medical utilization. However, number of siblings was significantly and negatively correlated with the use of ambulatory visits. Third, children living with a divorced father had fewer medical utilization compared to those living with a widowed father, and coresidence with grandparents was positively associated with children's use of ambulatory visits. Our findings suggest that tailored policy supports would be more fruitful based on characteristics of single-parent households such as gender of parents, and the supports should also pay more attention to health care needs and medical utilization of children.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.369-375
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• 2013

Objective: Using the Korean Health Panel data (KHP) of 2008 and 2009, this paper analyzed the effect of antihypertension medication adherence on the changes in medical service utilization and medical expenditure in the next year. Method: Through a face-to-face interview survey, KHP has provided an extensive data on demographic characteristics, medical utilizations behavior, medical expenditure and health behaviors of the targeted households and their members since 2008. KHP is recognized as highly accurate regarding medical expenditure in that it makes the target households to record 'Health diary' whenever they use healthcare service, which could minimize their cognitive bias or memory distortion. The 2010 KHP data was based on the interview from 6,432 households and 19,697 household members. Two part model was used to explore the effects of medication adherence on medical use (logistic regression analysis) and medical expenditures (OLS). Result: Our study result demonstrated that the 74.7% of the patients who strictly adhere to their medication in both years, in 2008 and in 2009, were likely to use inpatient service in 2010. This shows the noncompliant patients were in fact use emergency service less than the compliant patients. Conclusion: Based on our analysis, this paper concludes that the high medication adherence of hypertensive patients could contribute to reduce the emergency service use. Therefore it is highly recommendable for the Korean government and the insurer, NHIS, to actively invest in developing education and promotion program to improve medication adherence among hypertensive patients.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2023

Objectives : This study aimed to analyze the factors influencing Korean medical utilization among persons with unmet healthcare needs. Methods : This study utilized Korea Health Panel data in 2019, with 10,771. We performed a t-test and ANOVA on the difference in general characteristics between Korean medical utilization and unmet healthcare needs. Logistic regression analysis and generalized linear model analysis were conducted to analyze on factors affecting the Korean medical utilization by people with unmet healthcare needs. Results : Among people with unmet healthcare needs, the variables influencing Korean medical utilization were western medical utilization, gender, education level, musculoskeletal disease, and other chronic diseases. The more people with unmet healthcare needs, the more likely they were to use Korean medicine. As a result of logistic regression analysis, the influencing factors on Korean medical utilization were analyzed for people with unmet healthcare needs, and the higher the household income, the more musculoskeletal diseases, and the higher the probability of using Korean medicine. Conclusions : Korean medicine has a large proportion of musculoskeletal disease, so it was found that musculoskeletal diseases have an impact. In addition, considering that household income is an important factor in the influencing factor of unmet healthcare needs, it is necessary to increase the use of Korean medicine by those with low household incomes.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.152-161
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• 2015

We analyze the determinants of obesity and the chronic diseases using the Korea Health Panel data. Also we analyze the effect of obesity and the chronic diseases on the health care expenditures. Through this study, to reduce the health care expenditures, we suggest the policy implication that might curb the obesity and the chronic diseases. We estimate the determinants of obesity, the chronic diseases, and the health care expenditures using 2SLS (two stage least squares) estimation method under the simultaneous equations framework. Result says that obesity and chronic diseases significantly have positive effects on the health care expenditures. Also the determinants of the health care expenditures that have positive effects are age, income and health care utilization variables.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.185-208
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• 2014

This study is to identify the factors deterring or precipitating the exit from welfare recipiency to labor market in the Korean social assistance program. The results from the empirical analyses of the Korea Welfare Panel Study(KOWEPS) show that the duration dependency is not due to increasing welfare dependency with duration, but to the fact that longer stayers have many vulnerable conditions to escape from poverty. Particularly, the main factors determining the transition from recipiency to labor market are not individual or household characteristics such as human or social capital. Those having adolescents of secondary education in their households or participating in some effective labor market program such as job placement service tend to have significant effects on the exit rates from recipiency. That means that the institution-related factors such as the education and health supports combined with benefits and the effective labor market programs are important in the translation from recipiency to labor market of working-age recipients in the Korean social assistance scheme.