Implications of sociodemographic factors and health examination rate for people with disabilities.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To 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. DESIGN: The study compared the health examination rates between PWD and the GP using data from 2 national surveys. SETTING: We 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. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised data from the NSPD 2008 for PWD (n=6999) and data from the KNHANES 2008 for the GP (n=6582). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Health examination rates of 2 groups were assessed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the related factors influencing health examination rates in PWD. RESULTS: Health 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. CONCLUSIONS: Health 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.