Implications of Sociodemographic Factors and Health Examination Rate for People With Disabilities

Chun SM, Hwang B, Park J-H, Shin H-I. Implications of sociodemographic factors and health examination rate for people with disabilities.ObjectivesTo determine disparities in health examination rates between people with disabilities (PWD) and the general population (GP), and to investigate the sociodemographic factors influencing health examination rates in PWD.DesignThe study compared the health examination rates between PWD and the GP using data from 2 national surveys.SettingWe used data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of (KNHANES) 2008 and the National Survey on Persons with Disabilities (NSPD) in 2008.ParticipantsThe study comprised data from the NSPD 2008 for PWD (n=6999) and data from the KNHANES 2008 for the GP (n=6582).InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresHealth examination rates of 2 groups were assessed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the related factors influencing health examination rates in PWD.ResultsHealth examination rates for PWD were significantly lower than those for the GP (P<.001). The health examination rates for PWD were lowest when they were in the age group of 30 to 39 years, in the quartile 2 group of income level, had no “existing spouse,” had chronic diseases, thought their health condition was very bad, and when they needed complete help from others to carry out activities of daily living.ConclusionsHealth examination rates were reduced by the disability factor. To enhance the overall rate of health examinations, researchers should determine which groups of PWD have relatively low health examination rates and propose measures to increase their rates of health examination.