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

Rangkyoung Ha, Kyunghee Jung-Choi and Chang-Yup Kim
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Rangkyoung Ha: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Korea
Kyunghee Jung-Choi: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Korea
Chang-Yup Kim: Department of Health Policy and Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: employment status; precarious workers; self-reported unmet healthcare needs; barriers to healthcare utilization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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