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. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.