Chronic Diseases, Health Status and Health Service Utilization among Koreans

This study described the self-reported chronic diseases and health status and examined the factors that are associated with effective health service utilization. Descriptive and logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors significantly associated with self-rated health, in-patient and out-patient utilization. Self-rated health status was ranked lower among rural residents, lower-income families, married persons, and those with chronic diseases. Chronic diseases such as hypertension, arthritis, melancholy, and diabetes were common and they are associated with poor health of Koreans. The presence of chronic diseases was significant in predicting the likelihood of poor health while socio-economic factors, rather than health-related need factors, had more predictive power of the use of health services. This study provides a unique contribution to the knowledge base of the Korean population. The study findings show that Koreans in poor health status were married, living in rural areas, having chronic diseases and lower income, with a high likelihood of health care utilization among employed individuals, which could significantly help in the public health policy required to address this issue.