PURPOSE
The purposes of this secondary analysis study was to examine prevalence, risk factors and unmet healthcare needs among adults with hypertension.
METHODS
A sample of 3,386 adults over the age of 40 with hypertension were drawn from the Korea Health Panel Study (2013). Using SPSS 22.0 version, descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, chi-square and logistic regression were performed.
RESULTS
Results showed that 18.9% of the sample reported unmet healthcare needs with the most frequently cited one was financial burdens (43.2%). The reported experiences of unmet healthcare needs differed by gender, marital status, vision or hearing impairment, memory problem, impaired mobility, subjective health status, total family income, depressive episode and the difficulty in making decisions. The sample participants were more likely to report unmet healthcare if they had vision impairment, low income and perception that their health status as moderate to poor. Those without vision impairment were less likely to report unmet healthcare needs.
CONCLUSION
The identified risk factors of unmet healthcare needs should be addressed which would enhance access both to health care and to resolution of unmet healthcare needs. Since visual ability seems to impact perception of unmet healthcare needs, it may be useful to find ways to address this factor.

Citations

• Regional disparities in health literacy for chronic diseases: focusing on healthcare resources and local extinction index
  Seokmin Ji, Young Gyu Kwon, Hyunseo Lee, Chaehwan Shin, Minsung Sohn, Mankyu Choi
  Frontiers in Public Health.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Identifying the Group Vulnerable to Unmet Medical Needs Due to Food Security: According to Children in the Household
  Min-Soo Kim, Hyeon-Ji Lee, Jae-Hyun Kim
  Healthcare.2023; 11(3): 423.     CrossRef
• Factors related to undiagnosed diabetes in Korean adults: a secondary data analysis
  Bohyun Kim
  Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science.2023; 25(4): 295.     CrossRef
• Unmet Healthcare Needs and Related Factors Among Immigrants: A Cross-Sectional Secondary Analysis of 2019 Korea Community Health Survey Data
  SookKyoung Park, Hye Young Kim, Young-Me Lee
  INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef

PURPOSE
The purpose of this secondary data analysis study was to compare what factors influenced individual's satisfaction with emergency medical services (EMS).
METHODS
Data were obtained from the Korea Health Panel Survey 2013 with 20,641 participants. A total sample of emergency room (ER) users (n=1,709) aged 20 and over were selected and divided into two age groups, one for 1,046 adults and the other for 663 elderly. Participants' responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ² test and logistic regression.
RESULTS
Among adults and elderly who were transferred to other hospitals instead of being admitted or returned to their homes reported less satisfaction (χ²=10.18, p=.006). Further, the adults who perceived their arrival to the ER as not delayed (χ²=3.74, p=.049) or visited the ER for treatment for illness (χ²=5.32, p=.021) reported more satisfaction than those who perceived their ER service being delayed or visited the ER for accident or poisoning. The elderly who visited ER by non-ambulance reported higher satisfaction than those who arrived by ambulance (χ²=14.15, p < .001).
CONCLUSION
In both adults and the elderly, satisfaction of EMS can be increased by avoiding transferring patients to other hospital. For adults to be satisfied with EMS, efficient and rapid EMS might be needed to avoid delay in ER arrival, especially for adults with accidents or poisoning.

Citations

• Factors Influencing Satisfaction with Medical Institutions according to Health Condition and Medical Use Condition of Single Elderly Households in Rural Areas: Using the Results of Survey on Rural Well-being 2021
  Min U Lee, Gi Chun Seo, Eun-Jung Hong
  The Korean Journal of Community Living Science.2023; 34(3): 457.     CrossRef