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- Title
Korean American health insurance and health services utilization.
- Authors
Ryu H; Young WB; Park C
- Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the unique pattern of health service utilization and health insurance coverage for Korean Americans.DESIGN: Cross-sectional, descriptive survey.SETTING: NAPOPULATION: Sample data for this study came from the 1992 National Health Insurance Survey (NHIS). The total sample for this study was 345 Korean American and 3,059 Asian American respondents of the total respondents to the 1992 NHIS.INTERVENTIONS: Measures were selected from the NHIS data set to best approximate the conceptual variables and to be consistent with prior health service utilization model studies. Predisposing factors, or personal and social structure factors that relate to the propensity to use health services, were measured as: ethnicity, age in years, sex, education in years, marital status, and family size. Enabling factors, or means that allow access to health services to be available, were measured as: type of employment, family income, numbers of years lived in the United States, and health insurance status. Need factors, or health limitations that determine a need to use health services, were measured as respondent-assessed health status, number of conditions, and number of days in the past 1 year spent in bed because of illness or injury.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Results differed between the Korean American group and the Asian American group. Health insurance coverage was the strongest predictor of Korean American utilization, and need factors lacked significance, suggesting that uninsured Korean Americans have less access regardless of need. For the aggregate Asian American group, need factors tempered the influence of health insurance on utilization.RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The study findings support the need for an accurate identification of key factors associated with lack of health insurance for vulnerable groups as an important first step to any policy initiative to increase insurance coverage and, in turn, access to health services. Results suggest policy solutions at the local, state, or national level must be sufficiently tailored to various groups' unique needs and risks and may include strategies to improve access for the self-employed. This study demonstrates how to use NHIS data to identify unique factors explaining health insurance and health service utilization of specific ethnic groups. [CINAHL abstract]
- Publication
Research in Nursing & Health, 2001, Vol 24, Issue 6, p494
- ISSN
0160-6891
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1002/nur.10009