Disparities in precarious workers’ health care access in South Korea

Background: This study explored whether precarious workers have difficulties in health care access as compared with non-precarious workers. Methods: The 2008 Korean Community Health Survey data were used for this study. Information was obtained on 51,322 participants (40,514 non-precarious workers and 10,808 precarious workers). Precarious workers were defined as part-time or contingent workers. Results: Precarious workers had significantly higher risk of limited access to hospitals (OR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.06–1.22) and dentists (OR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.21–1.36) than non-precarious workers; disparities in doctor contacts among precarious workers were mostly linked to not having enough money. The risk of not receiving preventive care—medical checkups (OR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.49–0.55) or cancer screenings (OR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.77–0.86)—was also significantly elevated among precarious workers. Conclusion: We found that precarious workers had more difficulty accessing health care or receiving health checkups or cancer screenings than their non-precarious counterparts. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:1136–1144, 2016.