Disparities in precarious workers’ health care access in South Korea

BackgroundThis study explored whether precarious workers have difficulties in health care access as compared with non‐precarious workers.MethodsThe 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.ResultsPrecarious 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.ConclusionWe 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. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.