• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.277-289
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the cross-sectional association of company size and self-rated health using representative data on Korean workers. Methods: We used the data from 2,884 wage workers collected by Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (17th). The association between company size and self-rated health was analyzed using logistic regression with covariates including demographic characteristics, work environment, job satisfaction, and health-related behaviors. Resulst: Odds ratio (OR) for better health status among workers in large-sized company was 1.351 (CI. 1.054~1.731), compared to workers in small-sized company. We performed three separate models stratified by firm size (small, medium, and large companies). Occupation variables showed different effect on health depending on firm sizes. OR for better health of white-color job (referred to blue-color job) was 1.693 in medium-sized company model but it was 0.615 in large company model. OR for better health of the workers working shift work showed 0.606 in large company model but it was not significant in small and medium company models. Conclusion: We found that small-sized company workers have significantly poor self-rated health compared to large-sized firm workers. This study revealed that there exist differences among health related factors depending on firm sizes.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.199-211
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• 2023

Purpose : Rapid population aging in South Korea is emerging as serious social problems, and interest in the health-related quality of life of the elderly is also increasing. Therefore, this study attempted to provide basic data to develop measures to improve the health-related quality of life of the elderly by identifying the impact of the elderly's dietary lifestyle on the health-related quality of life. Methods : Utilizing raw data from the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey spanning from 2011 to 2020, this study focused on individuals aged 65 and above. After excluding cases with missing data, 12,731 individuals were included in the final analysis. Various statistical methods including frequency analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, Scheffé test and hierarchical regression analysis were performed using SPSS 25.0 for windows. The statistical significance level (α) was set at .05. Results : The main results of this study were as follows. Firstly, dietary lifestyle exhibited variations depending on gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood type, household type, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Secondly, there were disparities in health-related quality of life (as measured by the EQ-5D index) based on gender, age, education level, residence, individual income, basic livelihood security, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Thirdly, the EQ-5D index showed that elderly individuals' dietary lifestyle adversely impacted their health-related quality of life (F=353.74, p<.001). Conclusion : Therefore, it is necessary to prepare policies to improve the health-related quality of life by maintaining a proper diet for the elderly, and customized support and management is required taking into account the elderly's gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood security, household type, self-rated health status, chewing difficulty etc.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.219-226
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• 2018

Objectives: This study aimed to explain the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) gap between the poorest and the wealthiest quintiles in the capitals of Kermanshah and Kurdistan Provinces (Kermanshah and Sanandaj), in western Iran. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 1772 adults. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status (SES), lifestyle factors, body mass index, and HRQoL of participants were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The slope and relative indices of inequality (SII and RII, respectively) were employed to examine socioeconomic inequality in poor HRQoL. Blinder-Oaxaca (BO) decomposition was used to quantify the contribution of explanatory variables to the gap in the prevalence of poor HRQoL between the wealthiest and the poorest groups. Results: The overall crude and age-adjusted prevalence of poor HRQoL among adults was 32.0 and 41.8%, respectively. The SII and RII indicated that poor HRQoL was mainly concentrated among individuals with lower SES. The absolute difference (%) in the prevalence of poor HRQoL between the highest and lowest SES groups was 28.4. The BO results indicated that 49.9% of the difference was explained by different distributions of age, smoking behavior, physical inactivity, chronic health conditions, and obesity between the highest and lowest SES groups, while the remaining half of the gap was explained by the response effect. Conclusions: We observed a pro-rich distribution of poor HRQoL among adults in the capitals of Kermanshah and Kurdistan Provinces. Policies and strategies aimed at preventing and reducing smoking, physical inactivity, chronic health conditions, and obesity among the poor may reduce the gap in poor HRQoL between the highest and lowest SES groups in Iran.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.205-215
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• 2022

Background: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors infecting the medical care utilization from a new perspective by newly classifying the categories of administrative districts using the urban decline index and medical vulnerability index as indicators. Methods: This study targeted 150,940 people who used medical services using the 2015 cohort database (DB), 2010-2015 urban regeneration analysis index DB, and 2014-2015 public health and medical statistics DB. The decline of the region was classified using the urban decline index typed using k-means clustering and the medical vulnerability index typed using the quantile score calculation. Regression analysis was performed 3 times with medical expenditure, length of stay, and the number of outpatient visits as dependent variables. Results: There were 37 stable region (47.4%), 29 health vulnerable region (37.2%), and 12 decline region (15.4%). The health vulnerable region had lower medical expenditure, fewer outpatient visits, and a higher length of stay than the stable region. The decline region was all higher than the stable region but had no significant effect. Conclusion: The factors that cause the health disparity between regions are not only factors related to individual health behavior but also environmental factors of the local community. Therefore, there is a need for a systematic alternative that properly considers the resources within the community and reflects the characteristics of the population.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.spc
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• pp.525-533
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• 2020

Purpose: Workers in special employment relationship (WSERs) are workers in nonstandard employment arrangements who lack worker protection accorded in standard employment arrangements. This study aimed to describe self-rated health (SRH) and depressive symptoms (DS) among Korean WSERs in comparison to regular wage workers (RWW) and identify associations between working conditions and those outcomes. Methods: In this study, secondary data analysis using the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey was used. The sample totaled 29,120, including 1,538 WSERs and 27,564 RWWs. Sociodemographic and work-related characteristics were employed as explanatory variables and SRH and DS as dependent variables. Using multiple logistic regression, the determinants of fair/poor SRH and DS were identified. Results: The prevalence rates for fair/poor SRH and DS in WSERs were 25.2% and 28.3%, respectively, and 20.7% and 25.0% in RWWs, respectively. Compared to RWWs, WSERs had 31% (aOR=1.31, 95% CI=1.14~1.49) and 20% (aOR=1.20, 95% CI=1.06~1.36) higher odds of SRH and DS, respectively. Some factors, such as a lack of rest guarantee and sickness presenteeism, had a larger influence in the WSER than in the RWW group. Conclusion: Compared to RWWs, WSERs reported having poorer working conditions and were more likely to report poor general and mental health. Therefore, in Korea, public health policymakers should consider measures to protect the working conditions and health of WSERs, a growing segment of the working population. The study produced new epidemiological evidence regarding the relationships between employment arrangements and health.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.312-319
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• 2023

Background: Parental attention is crucial for preventing childhood oral diseases. Mothers play a significant role in maintaining their families' oral health, and their educational level influences their children's oral health behaviors. This study investigates the impact of mothers' educational levels on adult oral health behaviors using data from a national survey. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data. The data used were obtained from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated to identify participant characteristics. Next, t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were conducted to examine the effects of the explanatory variables on the distribution of the dependent variable. Finally, logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the influence of the explanatory variable on the dependent variable, using "no education" as the reference value, and calculate the odds ratios. Results: Children of mothers with a college education or higher had a 1.13 times higher likelihood of receiving oral examinations than those whose mothers had no education. Children whose mothers graduated from college or higher had a 2.23 times higher probability of receiving preventative dental treatment than those whose mothers had no education. Children whose mothers graduated from college or higher had a 1.92 times higher probability of receiving scaling than those whose mothers had no education. Children whose mothers graduated from high school had a 1.35 times higher probability of receiving scaling than those whose mothers had no education. Conclusion: Developing oral health programs is important for low-educated and low-income parents to change theirs and their children's oral health behaviors/attitudes. This will help reduce oral health disparities among adults raised by parents of higher and lower socioeconomic statuses. Therefore, a comprehensive approach is essential for adults to maintain good oral health, regardless of variations in their parental educational levels during childhood.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.253-256
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• 2016

Geographic disparity for colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality according to the human development index (HDI) might be expected. This study aimed at quantifying the effect measure of association HDI and its components on the CRC incidence and mortality. In this ecological study, CRC incidence and mortality was obtained from GLOBOCAN, the global cancer project for 172 countries. Data were extracted about HDI 2013 for 169 countries from the World Bank report. Linear regression was constructed to measure effects of HDI and its components on CRC incidence and mortality. A positive trend between increasing HDI of countries and age-standardized rates per 100,000 of CRC incidence and mortality was observed. Among HDI components education was the strongest effect measure of association on CRC incidence and mortality, regression coefficients (95% confidence intervals) being 2.8 (2.4, 3.2) and 0.9 (0.8, 1), respectively. HDI and its components were positively related with CRC incidence and mortality and can be considered as targets for prevention and treatment intervention or tracking geographic disparities.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.17-36
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• 2020

This study aims to compare the differences between the socially underprivileged and the population as a whole in terms of the quality of life gap between the Seoul metropolitan and non-capital regions based on the capabilities approach. To this end, we selected indicators that can measure nine dimensions of capabilities, such as income, housing, health, and social relations, calculated indicator values for the socially underprivileged and the whole population, and standardized them. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the SUR model were used for comparative analysis. The results show that there are significant differences in the disparities between the Seoul metropolitan and non-capital regions between the socially underprivileged and the entire population, and the differences are generally consistent in the most unfavorable direction for the socially underprivileged in the non-capital regions. In addition, the gap between the Seoul metropolitan and non-capital regions is not large from the point of view of the total population average, but the inter-regional gap is still significant from the viewpoint of the socially underprivileged. These results show the limitations of 'average' regional policies based on an analysis of the average of the total population, and the study is significant to illustrate the ecological errors that may arise in regional problem analysis.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.231-251
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• 2008

Academic interest has been drastically increased for the health disparities due to socioeconomic factors. For those who have a chronic illness such as diabetes, various psychosocial barriers related to illness management might affect and aggravate this disparity. This study focused on illness management barriers experienced by people with diabetes, and examined the differences by their Medicaid beneficiary status. The between group differences in illness management barriers, family support and health status were examined as well as the association between illness management barriers and health status. The sample of this study consists of 144 community dwelling adults who have diabetes, recruited from an outpatient diabetes clinic and a community welfare center. Medicaid beneficiaries reported poorer health status, and experienced more illness management barriers compared to their counterparts. Statistically significant differences were observed in barriers due to mental health, financial status, and lack of support. The between group difference in health status remained significant after controlling for the effect of demographic characteristics and illness related factors. Social work practitioners working with this population should address these illness management barriers to reduce socioeconomic health disparity.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.397-413
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the income level and the healthcare utilization by health insurance type in all cancer patients in year 2005. Methods: The target population was cancer patients with health insurance who used healthcare as a diagnosis code (C00-C97) from January 1 to December 31 of 2005. The Korea Central Cancer Registry Center's Cancer Patient Registry Data, the list of cancer patients of the National Health Insurance Corporation, and the claim data of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service were used. The I was the wealthiest, followed by II, III, IV. The V was the poorest in this study. For the analysis, the $x^2$-test, ANOVA (and Kruskal-Wallis test), and regression were used. Results: Outpatient and hospitalization medical expenses, and outpatient visit days of cancer patients with self-employed health insurance were highest in I (p<.001, respectively), and the hospitalization days were the highest in II (p<.001, respectively). Outpatient and hospitalization medical expenses, and outpatient visit and hospitalization days of cancer patients with occupational health insurance were the highest in I (p<.001, respectively). Outpatient and hospitalization medical expenses, and outpatient visit and hospitalization days in cancer patients were higher in I compared to V, and higher in II and III, IV compared to V (p<.001, respectively). Conclusion: Supporting plan for cancer patients' outpatient healthcare utilization are necessary. Moreover, we should make specialized strategy for low income cancer patients with self-employed health insurance when we develop quality improvement policy for inpatient service.