• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.50-58
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• 2023

Objectives: Socioeconomic inequality in metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains poorly understood in Iran. The present study examined the extent of the socioeconomic inequalities in MetS and quantified the contribution of its determinants to explain the observed inequality, with a focus on middle-aged adults in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Ravansar Non-Communicable Disease cohort study. A sample of 9975 middleaged adults aged 35-65 years was analyzed. MetS was assessed based on the International Diabetes Federation definition. Principal component analysis was used to construct socioeconomic status (SES). The Wagstaff normalized concentration index (CI_n) was employed to measure the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in MetS. Decomposition analysis was performed to identify and calculate the contribution of the MetS inequality determinants. Results: The proportion of MetS in the sample was 41.1%. The CI_n of having MetS was 0.043 (95% confidence interval, 0.020 to 0.066), indicating that MetS was more concentrated among individuals with high SES. The main contributors to the observed inequality in MetS were SES (72.0%), residence (rural or urban, 46.9%), and physical activity (31.5%). Conclusions: Our findings indicated a pro-poor inequality in MetS among Iranian middle-aged adults. These results highlight the importance of persuading middle-aged adults to be physically active, particularly those in an urban setting. In addition to targeting physically inactive individuals and those with low levels of education, policy interventions aimed at mitigating socioeconomic inequality in MetS should increase the focus on high-SES individuals and the urban population.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제52권4호
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• pp.214-223
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• 2019

Objectives: Equity in financial protection against healthcare expenditures is one the primary functions of health systems worldwide. This study aimed to quantify socioeconomic inequality in facing catastrophic healthcare expenditures (CHE) and to identify the main factors contributing to socioeconomic inequality in CHE in Iran. Methods: A total of 37 860 households were drawn from the Households Income and Expenditure Survey, conducted by the Statistical Center of Iran in 2017. The prevalence of CHE was measured using a cut-off of spending at least 40% of the capacity to pay on healthcare services. The concentration curve and concentration index (C) were used to illustrate and measure the extent of socioeconomic inequality in CHE among Iranian households. The C was decomposed to identify the main factors explaining the observed socioeconomic inequality in CHE in Iran. Results: The prevalence of CHE among Iranian households in 2017 was 5.26% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.04 to 5.49). The value of C was -0.17 (95% CI, -0.19 to -0.13), suggesting that CHE was mainly concentrated among socioeconomically disadvantaged households in Iran. The decomposition analysis highlighted the household wealth index as explaining 71.7% of the concentration of CHE among the poor in Iran. Conclusions: This study revealed that CHE is disproportionately concentrated among poor households in Iran. Health policies to reduce socioeconomic inequality in facing CHE in Iran should focus on socioeconomically disadvantaged households.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제51권6호
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• pp.310-319
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• 2018

Objectives: This study examined trends in inequality in cigarette smoking prevalence by income according to recent anti-smoking policies in Korea. Methods: The data used in this study were drawn from three nationally representative surveys, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the Korea Community Health Survey, and the Social Survey of Statistics Korea. We calculated the age-standardized smoking prevalence, the slope index of inequality, and the relative index of inequality by income level as a socioeconomic position indicator. Results: Smoking prevalence among men decreased during the study period, but the downward trend became especially pronounced in 2015, when the tobacco price was substantially increased. Inequalities in cigarette smoking by income were evident in both genders over the study period in all three national surveys examined. Absolute inequality tended to decrease between 2014 and 2015 among men. Absolute and relative inequality by income decreased between 2008 and 2016 in women aged 30-59, except between 2014 and 2015. Conclusions: The recent anti-smoking policies in Korea resulted in a downward trend in smoking prevalence among men, but not in relative inequality, throughout the study period. Absolute inequality decreased over the study period among men aged 30-59. A more aggressive tax policy is warranted to further reduce socioeconomic inequalities in smoking in young adults in Korea.

• 디지털융복합연구
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• 제16권10호
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• pp.49-57
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• 2018

본 연구는 소득계층별 노인 가구와 비 노인 가구의 보건의료비 지출의 불평등과 그 특징을 확인함으로써 노인 가구 특성에 맞는 보건의료이용 불평등 해소정책을 제안하기 위해 수행되었다. 분석결과 노인 가구의 보건의료비 지출이 비 노인 가구에 비해 통계적으로 유의하게 많았다. 또한, 소득계층별 보건의료비 지출의 불평등을 확인하기 위해 집중지수를 산출한 결과 비 노인 가구, 노인 가구, 전체의 순으로 불평등이 컸다. 보건의료비 지출이 가구소득불평등에 미친 영향을 확인하기 위해 총 소득에서 보건의료비 지출액을 제외한 소득의 집중지수를 산출한 결과 노인 가구, 전체 가구, 비 노인 가구의 순으로 불평등이 컸다. 따라서 노인 가구와 비 노인 가구 각각의 보건의료비 지출의 불평등 차이가 크지 않았다. 또한, 노인 가구의 보건의료비 지출액이 비 노인 가구에 비해서 많고, 노인 가구의 소득계층별 보건의료비 지출의 불평등 정도가 심각한 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 노인 가구에 대한 의료비 지원정책으로 필요한 의료서비스를 이용하지 못하는 사례가 없도록 함으로서 불평등을 해소하기 위해 노력하여야 한다.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제55권4호
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• pp.379-388
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• 2022

Objectives: Throughout history, societies have been impacted by inequality. Many studies have been conducted on the topic more broadly, but only a few have investigated inequalities in out-of-pocket health payments (OHP). This study measures OHP inequality trends among the Iranian households. Methods: This study used data from the Iranian Statistics Center on Iranian household income and expenditures. The analysis included a total of 995 300 households during the 36 years from 1984 to 2019. The Gini coefficient, Atkinson index, and Theil index were calculated for Iranian OHP. Results: Average Iranian household OHP increased from 33 US dollar (USD) in 1984 to 47 USD in 2019. During this 36-year span, the average±standard deviation Gini coefficient for OHP was 0.73±0.04, and the Atkinson and Theil indexes were 0.68±0.05 and 1.14±0.29, respectively. The Gini coefficients for the subcategories of OHP of outpatient diagnostic services, medical assistant accessories, hospital inpatient services, and addiction cessation were 0.70, 0.61, 0.84, and 0.64, respectively. Conclusions: In this study, we scrutinized trends of inequality in the OHP of Iranian households. Inequality in OHP decreased slightly over the past four decades. An analysis of trends among different subgroups revealed that affluent households, such as households with insurance coverage and households in higher income deciles, experienced higher inequality. Therefore, lower inequality in health care expenditures may be related to restricted access to health care services in Iran.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.1-17
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• 2018

As societal interest in inequality increases in Korea, both public and academic discussion on inequality is also on the rise. In order to more effectively discuss the problems of rising inequality, however, it is essential to study the consequences and implications of inequality. This study examines one of the consequences of inequality, particularly on individuals - the relationship between an individual's perception of inequality and his/her evaluation of societal health, such as social trust and social mobility. According to a statistical analysis of the Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey for Social Sciences (KAMOS), those who perceive the level of income and wealth inequality in Korea as more unequal tend to have a lower level of trust toward Korean society and Korean people, as well as a lower expectation for both intra- and intergenerational social mobility. This study, which shows that rising inequality could have a negative impact at the individual level, not only extends the scope of the consequence-of-inequality studies from the society-oriented toward the individual-oriented, but it also has significant implications for the field, suggesting a new direction for future studies.

• 재활복지공학회논문지
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.239-244
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• 2014

본 연구는 2010년부터 2012년까지의 장애인고용패널조사 자료를 적용하여 구성집단별 보건의료비 불평등을 분석함으로써 장애인 가구의 보건의료 불평등 개선정책 수립에 기초자료를 제공하는 것을 목적으로 이행되었다. 분석결과, 지니계수에서는 여성장애인, 경제활동 미참여, 40대, 신체외부장애, 중증장애인일수록 보건의료비 지출에서 더욱더 불평등하였으며, 경북지역은 불평등이 계속 높아지는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 보건의료 소비가 낮은 그룹에서의 격차에 가중치를 부여한 엔트로피지수에서는 여성장애인, 경제활동 미참여, 정신적장애, 중증장애인일수록 보건의료 소비가 더욱더 불평등하였으며, 울산과 경북지역은 불평등이 심해지는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 구성집단별 요인분해에서 집단 간보다는 집단 내의 보건의료비 불평등이 높게 나타났다. 이러한 결과를 토대로 연구의 제한점과 함의를 제안하였다.

• 한국컴퓨터정보학회논문지
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• 제22권10호
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• pp.145-150
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• 2017

This study aims to analyze panel data using OECD Health data of 34 years to examine how significant the inequality of income is to the inequality of health. The data was from OECD's pooled Health data of 32 countries from 1980 to 2013. The process of determining analysis model was as follows; First, through the descriptive statistics, we examined averages and standard deviation of variables. Second, Lagrange multiplier test has done. Third, through the F-test, we compared Least squares method and Fixed effect model. Lastly, by Hausman test, we determined proper model and examined effective factor using the model. As a result, rather than Pooled OLS Model, Fixed Effect Model was shown as effective in order to consider the characteristics of individual in the panel. The results are as follows: First, as relative poverty rate(${\beta}=-19.264$, p<.01) grows, people's life expectancy decreases. Second, as the rate of smoking(${\beta}=-.125$, p<.05) and the rate of unemployment (${\beta}=-.081$, p<.01) grows, people's life expectancy decreases. Third, as health expenditure(${\beta}=.414$, p<.01) shares more amount of GDP and as the number of hospital beds(${\beta}=-.190$, p<.05) grows, people's life expectancy increases.

• 한국노년학
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.759-776
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• 2012

본 연구는 EQ-5D를 이용하여 소득계층에 따른 노인들의 건강불평등을 측정하였다. 특히 건강불평등의 다양한 측면을 파악하기 위하여 집중지수를 EQ-5D의 하위차원 및 노인들의 하위집단에 따라 분해(decomposition)하였다. 분석 자료는 2010년 국민건강영양조사 원자료가 사용되었으며 이중 60세 이상인 자를 노인으로 정의하여 분석하였다. 본 연구의 분석결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 노인들의 EQ-5D 집중지수는 .0254를 기록하였다. 이는 고소득층에 유리한 불평등이 있음을 의미한다. 나아가 EQ-5D를 구성하는 모든 하위차원 즉, 운동능력, 자기관리, 일상활동, 통증/불편, 불안/우울, 기능악화 등에서도 불건강이 저소득층에 집중되어 나타났다. 둘째, EQ-5D 집중지수를 가장 많이 설명하는 하위차원은 운동능력으로 EQ-5D 집중지수의 35.8%를 설명하였다. 그 다음으로 통증 및 불편(17.7%), 기능악화(17.7%), 일상관리(14.6%) 등의 순으로 설명력이 높다. 이러한 결과는 전 연령층을 분석한 선행연구의 결과와 대조를 이루는데, 선행연구들에서 기여도가 매우 낮았던 운동능력(3.9%)이 크게 상승한 반면 불안/우울의 기여도는 약화되었다. 셋째, 성별, 지역, 배우자 유무에 따라 EQ-5D 집중지수를 분해한 결과 세 집단이 집중지수를 설명하는 정도는 비슷하게 나타났다. 세 집단은 각각 건강형평성의 1/10정도를 설명하였다. 넷째, EQ-5D 집중지수를 하위집단에 따라 분해한 결과, 남성보다는 여성이, 도시지역보다는 농어촌지역이, 그리고 배우자가 있는 노인보다는 없는 노인의 내부불평등이 더 크게 나타났다. 내부 불평등이 큰 세 집단의 경우 모두 EQ-5D 평균값도 낮았는데, 이는 저소득 여성노인일수록, 농어촌지역 저소득 노인일수록, 배우자가 없는 저소득 노인일수록 건강관련 삶의 질이 떨어짐을 의미하는 것이었다. 마지막으로 하위집단의 내부불평등이 집중지수를 설명하는 정도는 여성노인집단, 도시지역 노인집단, 배우자가 있는 노인집단이 크게 나타났다.

• 국제지역연구
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.175-194
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• 2016

본 연구는 사회경제적 요인이 중국인의 건강상태에 미치는 영향을 통해 건강불평등 현상의 존재 여부를 고찰하는데 그 목적이 있다. 이를 위하여 중국인의 건강 상태와 사회경제적 특성과 관련된 다양한 정보를 포함하고 있는 자료원인 중국 건강 영양 자료(China Health and Nutrition Survey)의 2000년, 2004년, 2009년 자료를 병합하여 얻은 자료를 바탕으로 Ordinary Least Square model (OLS) 모델과 Ordered Logit 모델을 이용해서 실증분석을 수행하였다. 본 연구에서 얻은 실증분석 결과를 소개하면, 사회경제적 특성을 나타내는 변수들이 중국인의 건강 수준을 나타내는 변수들에 미치는 영향을 분석한 결과, 이들 변수가 중국인의 건강 수준에 미치는 영향이 통계적으로 유의했던바, 이를 토대로 2000년 이래로 중국의 건강불평등 현상이 존재함을 확인하였다.