Employment Status and Self-Reported Unmet Healthcare Needs among South Korean Employees

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 9
• Main Authors: Ha, Rangkyoung, Jung-Choi, Kyunghee, Kim, Chang-Yup
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20-12-2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Education; Employees; Employers; Employment; Employment - statistics & numerical data; Family income; Female; Females; Health care; Health services; Health Services Accessibility - economics; Health Services Needs and Demand - statistics & numerical data; Health services utilization; Health surveys; Households; Humans; Labor; Labor market; Logistic Models; Male; Markets; Middle Aged; Nutrition; Nutrition Surveys; Occupations; Odds Ratio; Quality of life; Regression analysis; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Self employment; Self Report; Shift work; Social factors; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic data; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomics; Studies; Women; Working hours; Young Adult; Republic of Korea; South Korea; Europe; self-reported unmet healthcare needs; precarious workers; employment status; barriers to healthcare utilization
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16010009

We aimed to examine the association between employment status and self-reported unmet healthcare needs and to identify factors influencing self-reported unmet healthcare needs by employment status. Nationally representative data from the 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used. Participants were classified by employment status as either permanent or precarious workers. Explanatory variables included sociodemographic, labor-related, and health-related factors. Multivariate logistic regression ascertained the association between employment status and self-reported unmet healthcare needs and explanatory factors associated with self-reporting of unmet healthcare needs. Precarious workers had a higher prevalence of self-reported unmet healthcare needs than permanent workers, with a statistically significant odds ratio (OR) (1.74; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19⁻2.54). Male precarious workers working >40 h per week were more likely to self-report unmet needs than male precarious workers working <40 h (OR, 3.90; 95% CI, 1.40⁻10.87). Female precarious workers with a lower household income were about twice as likely to self-report unmet needs. Working hours and household income were significantly influential factors determining self-reporting of unmet healthcare needs, especially among precarious workers. Policy interventions to improve access to healthcare for precarious workers are needed.