A national pilot program for chronic diseases and health inequalities in South Korea
- 주제(키워드) Socioeconomic position , Area deprivation , Health inequality , Continuity of prescription medication , Chronic disease management , Pilot program
- 주제(기타) Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
- 설명문(일반) [Ha, Rangkyoung] Seoul Natl Univ, Grad Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Hlth Policy & Management, Seoul 08826, South Korea; [Kim, Dongjin; Choi, Jihee] Korea Inst Hlth & Social Affairs, Sejong, South Korea; [Jung-Choi, Kyunghee] Ewha Womans Univ, Sch Med, Coll Med, Dept Occupat & Environm Med, 25,Magokdong Ro 2 Gil, Seoul 07804, South Korea
- 등재 SCIE, SCOPUS
- 발행기관 BMC
- 발행년도 2021
- 총서유형 Journal
- URI http://www.dcollection.net/handler/ewha/000000182203
- 본문언어 영어
- Published As http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11208-7
초록/요약
BackgroundTo achieve the health equity, it is important to reduce socioeconomic inequalities when managing chronic diseases. In South Korea, a pilot program for chronic diseases was implemented at the national level. This study aimed to examine its effect on socioeconomic inequalities in chronic disease management at the individual and regional levels.MethodsKorean National Health Insurance data from September 2016 to October 2017 were used. Study subjects in the national pilot program for chronic diseases included 31,765 participants and 5,741,922 non-participants. The dependent variable was continuity of prescription medication. Socioeconomic position indicators were health insurance contribution level and the area deprivation index. Covariates were gender, age, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). A multilevel logistic regression model was used to address the effects at both the individual and regional levels. This is a cross-sectional study.ResultsUnlike the group of non-participants, the participants showed no inequality in prescription medication continuity according to individual-level socioeconomic position. However, continuity of prescription medication was higher among those in less deprived areas compared to those in more deprived areas in both the participation and non-participation groups.ConclusionsThis study found that the pilot program for chronic diseases at the least did not contribute to the worsening of health inequalities at the individual level in South Korea. However, there was a trend showing health inequalities based on the socioeconomic level of the area. These findings suggest that additional policy measures are needed to attain equality in the management of chronic diseases regardless of the regional socioeconomic position.
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