Factors Associated with Healthcare Service Utilization among Korean Baby Boomers

Abstract

This study aims to explore factors associated with healthcare service utilization among Korean baby boomers. The Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) data was used, and we employed the Andersen"s healthcare service utilization model. Fixed effect model was used to examine the association between each independent variable and healthcare utilization for Korean baby boomers. Moreover, we identified changes in their characteristics including socio-economic status, healthcare service utilization, health behaviors and chronic illness from 2006 to 2010. Our results show that sex (male), economic activity (having job), income level (the lower), health behavior (the worse), and chronic illness are statistically significant. Furthermore, we found that the prevalence of chronic illness is growing steadily, and their health behaviors are getting worse and worse. This study is the first to explore factors associated with healthcare service utilization among Korean baby boomers. Our findings can provide valuable information to make policy for Korean baby boomers.