• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.404-410
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• 2007

Objectives: Due to the assumptions of homogeneity as well as challenges in the socioeconomic position of the elderly, they have been relatively neglected in studies of health inequalities. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the social inequalities in preventive services among elderly men and women. Methods: Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 342 men and 525 women aged 65 and over collected during the 2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Age adjusted proportions and logistic regression were used to identify the social patterning of preventive services among elderly Koreans using various social position indicators. Results: The findings of this study generally supported the presence of social gradients in preventive services among the Korean elderly. The likelihood of using the service becomes progressively higher with social position. Educational level, income, and self-rated living status were significantly associated with increased medical checkups and cancer checks. In addition, logistic regression detected educational inequalities only among older women receiving BP checks. After being stratified based on health status and chronic disease status, social disparities still existed when educational level and self-rated living status were considered. Among unhealthy individuals, place of residence was observed as a barrier to medical checkups. Conclusions: This study demonstrated strong and consistent associations between socioeconomic position and preventive services among the elderly in Korea. The results indicate that public health strategies should be developed to reduce the barriers to preventive services encountered by the elderly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2231-2238
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• 2014

This study investigated how self-rated health and socioeconomic status are associated with behaviour of cancer survivors regarding desire for information. For this association, we compared survivors who did not seek information about cancer with those who did. We examined how sociodemographic, socioeconomic, cancerrelated, and health information factors are associated with self-rated health (SRH) by health information seeking/avoiding behavior in a survey of 502 post-treatment cancer patients. In the information seeking group, all four factors exhibited significant relationships with SRH. SRH values were significantly high for women (p<0.05), non-Hispanic White (p<0.05), and educated (p<0.01) participants, and for those who had high self-efficacy to use health information by themselves (p<0.01). Furthermore, in the information avoiding group, not only were there no significant relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and SRH, but there were negative associations between their attitude/capacity and the SRH. In terms of communication equity, the promotion of information seeking behavior can be an effective way to reduce health disparities that are caused by social inequalities. Information avoiding behavior, however, does not exhibit a negative contribution toward the relationship between SRH and SES. Information seeking behavior was positively associated with SRH, but avoiding behavior was not negatively associated. We thus need to eliminate communication inequalities using health intervention to support information seeking behavior, while simultaneously providing support for avoiders.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.94-103
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• 2014

Objectives: The present study examined relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity and body mass index (BMI) as well as the effects of health-related behavioral and psychological factors on the relationships. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted on Korean adults aged 20 to 79 years using data from the 2001, 2005, and 2007 to 2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to estimate odds ratios of obesity and mean differences in BMI, respectively, across SES levels after controlling for health-related behavioral and psychological factors. Results: We observed significant gender-specific relationships of SES with obesity and BMI after adjusting for all covariates. In men, income, but not education, showed a slightly positive association with BMI (p<0.05 in 2001 and 2005). In women, education, but not income, was inversely associated with both obesity and BMI (p<0.0001 in all datasets). These relationships were attenuated with adjusting for health-related behavioral factors, not for psychological factors. Conclusions: Results confirmed gender-specific disparities in the associations of SES with obesity and BMI among adult Korean population. Focusing on intervention for health-related behaviors may be effective to reduce social inequalities in obesity.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.519-531
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Regional disparities in dietary factors might be related to regional disparities in cardiometabolic health. Therefore, this study investigated the associations of cardiometabolic risk factors and dietary factors with regional types in Korean adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Based on data from the 2007-2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the study included 39,781 adults aged ≥ 19 years who completed the dietary survey and a health examination. Healthy and unhealthy dietary factors (fat, sodium, fruit, and vegetable intakes) were evaluated using 1-day 24-h dietary recall method, as well as the use of nutrition labels with a questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the participants, 48.7%, 36.0%, and 15.2% lived in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas, respectively. Adults living in urban and rural had higher odds ratios (ORs) for obesity (OR for urban, 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.14; OR for rural, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05-1.24) than adults living in metropolitan areas; these associations were significantly observed in middle-aged adults. Compared to metropolitan residents, rural residents had lower ORs for hypertension in middle-aged (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.96) and metabolic syndrome in older adults (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.91). Regarding urban residents, a lower OR for diabetes in middle-aged adults (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74-0.97) and a higher OR for hypertension in older adults (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.02-1.39) were observed. Overall rural residents had higher ORs of excessive carbohydrate, low fruit, and high salted-vegetable intakes than metropolitan residents. Low fruit intake was positively associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension, after adjustment for regional type and other confounders in total participants. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that cardiometabolic risk and unhealthy dietary factors differ among regional types and age groups within Korea. Nutritional policy and interventions should consider regional types for prevention and management of cardiometabolic risk factors.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.541-548
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• 2020

This study aimed to explain the factors that influenced an individual's decision to migrate. The method of analysis in this study was the estimation of the probit regression model with data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS-5), which covered 30,000 individuals from 13 provinces in Indonesia. Data from IFLS-5 were longitudinal data, meaning that the study was looking for data consistently to get reliable data from respondents. The research variables to determine the individual's decision to migrate were education level, income level, employment status, marital status, land ownership status, health quality, gender, residence status, and poverty status. Individual decision to migrate as a dependent variable was placed as a dummy variable. The results showed that the level of education, income level, employment status, marital status, land ownership status, health quality, and poverty status significantly influenced an individual's decision to migrate. Meanwhile, gender and residence status did not significantly affect an individual's decision to migrate. This research recommends that it is necessary to pursue a policy of economic equality between regions because economic factors are the main trigger for an individual's decision to migrate. Policies to overcome economic disparities among regions will reduce the individual's decision to migrate.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.70-83
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• 2005

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between socio-economic factors and self-rated health among older people living in the community. In addition, the study tries to determine whether risk differentials by these socio-economic factors can be explained by other demographic factors, chronic diseases, and functional status. We surveyed to investigate the self-rated health of 397 study samples which had been selected by stratified randomized sampling, $2.7\%$ by each Dong (district) of S-city in Gyeonggi-do. Our study found that the socioeconomic factors such as income, occupation, and insurance were significantly associated with self-rated health. The level of social economic status was positively associated with the level of self-rated health. Two-staged multivariate analysis demonstrated that this relationship was still significant even after adjustment for demographic factors, chronic diseases, and functional status. In conclusion, there are wide socio-economic disparities in self-rated health of older people in this community. It is important that government should know not only health status but also the health-associated factors in order to prepare for the aged society and improve the health status of the elderly. Further researches should uncover causality and mechanism by which SES affects changes in functional health among the elderly.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.505-511
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• 2007

Objectives : While cervical cancer is one of the leading cancers among women worldwide, there are a number of effective early detection tests available. However, the participation rates in cervical cancer screening among Korean women remain low. After the nationwide efforts in 1988 and thereafter to encourage participation in cervical cancer screening, few studies have investigated the effects of socioeconomic inequality on participation in cervical cancer screening. The purpose of this study was to investigate 1) the level of socioeconomic disparities in receiving cervical cancer screening by age group and 2) if there was an improvement in reducing these disparities between 1995 and 2001. Methods : Using data from the Korean National Health Status, Health Behavior and Belief Survey in 1995, the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1998 and 2001 (sample sizes of 2,297, 3,738, and 3,283), age-standardized participation rates were calculated according to education level, equivalized household income, and job status. Odds ratios and the relative inequality index (RII) were also calculated after controlling for age. Results : Women with lower education levels were less likely to attend the screening test, and the disparities by education level were most pronounced among women aged 60 years and older. The RIIs among women 60 years and older were 3.64, 4.46, and 8.64 in 1995, 1998, and 2001, respectively. Higher rates of participation were reported among those in the highest income category, which was more notable among the middle aged women (40s and 50s). An inconsistent trend in the rate of participation in cervical cancer screening by occupational level was found. Conclusions : Indicators of socioeconomic position seem to have varying impacts on the inequalities in the rates of participation in cervical cancer screening according to age group. These results demonstrate the need for more aggressive and age-based interventions and policy programs to eliminate the remaining inequalities.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6303-6309
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• 2015

Differences in socioeconomic status (SES) such as income levels may partly explain why breast cancer screening (BCS) disparities exist in countries where health care services are free or heavily subsidized. However, factors that contribute to such differences in SES among women living in well resourced Middle East countries are not fully understood. This quantitative study investigated factors that influence SES and BCS of Arab women. Understanding of such factors can be useful for the development of effective intervention strategies that aim to increase BCS uptake among Arab women. Using data from a cross-sectional survey among 1,063 Arabic-speaking women in Qatar, age 35+, additional data analysis was performed to determine the relationship between socioeconomic indicators such as income and other factors in relation to BCS activities. This study found that income is determined and influenced by education level, occupation, nationality, years of residence in the country, level of social activity, self-perceived health status, and living area. Financial stress, unemployment, and unfavorable social conditions may impede women's participation in BCS activities in well resourced Middle East countries.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.63-75
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• 2007

Purpose: With economic development and prolonged longevity, the level of health and health disparities have became growing concerns for individual and society as well. Since youth's health status are influenced by households' socioeconomic status and associated with heath status in later stage of life, assessing health inequality in the youth is a significant step toward lessening health disparity and promoting health. We measured health inequality in high school students and decomposed it into health factors. Methods: The subjects included 3,787 high school students of 12th graders from the Korea Education and Employment Panel (KEEP) in 2004. True health status was assumed as a latent variable and estimated by ordered logistic regression model. The predicted health was used as a measure of individual health after rPSraling to [0,1] interval. Total health inequality was then measured by Gini coefficient and was decomposed into health factors. Results: Health inequality in high school students was observed. Of total health inequality, 44% was explained by biological factors such as body mass index (BMI) (32.5%) and gender (13.5%). Behavioral factors such as smoking, drinking, physical activity, hours in bed and hours of computer ussge added to 11.7%. Household income and work experiences explained 5.6% and 8.8%, respectively. School satisfaction explained 14.6%. Other school related factors such as self-assessed achievement and experience of being bullied accounted for 15.5%. Conclusion: Among the health factors, biological factor was the most important contributor in health disparity. Other factors such as health behaviors, socioeconomic factors, school satisfaction and school related factors exhibited somewhat similar magnitude. For policy purposes, it is recommended to look into modifiable factors depending BM, gender and school surroundings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6499-6504
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• 2014

Health information-seeking behavior (HISB) is active need-fulfillment behavior whereby health information is obtained from diverse sources, such as the media, and has emerged as an important issue within the transforming medical environment and the rise of medical consumers. However, little is known about the factors that affect HISB and its associations, and the health outcome of HISB. The aim of this study was to examine individual and social contextual factors associated with HISB and to systematically review their effects on health status among post-treatment cancer patients. Individual determinants of HISB included demographic factors, psychosocial factors, perceived efficacy and norms, and health beliefs. Contextual determinants of HISB encompassed community characteristics, neighborhood social capital, and media advocacy. Improving through factors on these two levels, HISB raised individuals' self-care management skills and medical treatment compliance, and enhanced shared decision-making and medical treatment satisfaction. Moreover, because HISB can differ according to individuals' social contextual conditions, it can give rise to communication inequalities. Because these can ultimately lead to health disparities between groups, social interest in HISB and balanced HISB promotion strategies are necessary.