Trends and Factors Affecting Participation Rate in Korean National Health Screening among People with Disabilities

Abstract

Background: People with disabilities have higher prevalence rates and earlier onset of chronic disease than the non-disabled; therefore, their participation in health screening is important. This study evaluates the participation rate and trends in health screening of people with disabilities, and examines the association between their participation rate and disability characteristics, and socioeconomic status. Methods: Data on disability-related characteristics were collected from the National Disability Registry, and participants' corresponding health examination data were taken from the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation between 2002 and 2011. A total of 873,819 participants aged ≥ 20 years were analyzed in this study. Results:The rate of participation of people with disabilities in health screening has increased each year, but their participation rate is lower than that of the total population. The participation rate was lower in females than in males; the elderly group than in the younger group; those who live in city areas than rural areas; self-employed for health insurance than employees; those with an internal organ disability than those with an external physical disability; those with a severe disability than those with a mild disability; and those with a short-term disability than for those with a long-term disability. Conclusion: The factors associated with participation rate are age, sex, socioeconomic status, and disability characteristics. These findings indicate that health check-ups of people with disabilities should be promoted using an approach that takes into account the large individual differences in socioeconomic status and disability characteristics in this population.

The Life Expectancy Gap between Registered Disabled and Non-Disabled People in Korea from 2004 to 2017

“…Disability type and severity might also have influenced access to health care services. Among disabled people, those with severe disabilities showed a lower probability of health screening attendance and medication adherence than those with mild disabilities [18,33,34]. Unmet healthcare needs and medication adherence of people with disabilities differed across types of disabilities [34,35].…”

Developing key performance indicators for guaranteeing right to health and access to medical service for persons with disabilities in Korea: Using a modified Delphi

“…Specifically, about 77% of Korean PWDs suffer from such chronic diseases as hypertension and diabetes, and their mortality rate is more than four times that of the total population [3]. However, health care services and support systems for PWDs in Korea remain insufficient, and the health disparity between people with and without disabilities persists because of insufficient health care management system [4,5].…”