The objectives of this research are 1) to access different images held by three consumer groups (patients in university hospital, patients in corporation hospital, persons who are not currently visiting hospitals) on two types of hospitals(university hospitals and corporation hospitals), and 2) to investigate the personal factors affecting images of two types of hospitals. The data for this analysis were collected by questionnaire survey. A total of 403 interviews were conducted. Of these cases, 43 percent are male and 57 percent are female. The major statistical methods used for the analysis are paired t-test, factor analysis and multiple regression. The three consumer groups show a consensus that corporation hospitals are better than university hospitals in some aspects, such as kindness, facilities, and equipments. However, these groups disagree in certain images on two types of hospitals, such as popularity, credibility, and readiness for emergency. The images on two types of hospitals are varied by the respondents' sociodemographic characteristics such as age, sex, and by the type of hospital they are currently visiting.
Consensus ; Emergencies ; Female ; Hospitals, University* ; Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: We compared factors associated with self-reported depression and, in particular, diagnosis and treatment of depressive symptoms in Korean adults. METHODS: The sample included 13,306 adults aged 19 years or older from the 2010 and 2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V). Data were applied to the chi2 test and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The following characteristics of individuals are significantly associated with self-reported depression: female (vs. male, OR [odds ratio]=3.35), ages 50-59 years (vs. 60+, OR=1.45), economic status (low vs. high, OR=1.35; middle-low vs. high OR=1.29), unemployed (vs. employed, OR=1.23), education (elementary vs. college, OR=1.18; middle school vs. college, OR=1.27; vs. high school vs. college, OR=1.18), current smoking (vs. no, OR=1.19), high-risk alcohol consumption (vs. no, OR=1.18), perceived health (good vs. very good/excellent, OR=1.156; poor/fair vs. very good/excellent, OR=2.65), chronic disease (vs. no, OR=1.26), activity limitation due to health problems (vs. no, OR=1.74), and being in a sickbed during the past month (vs. not in a sickbed, OR=1.69). Living in a metropolitan area (vs. rural, OR=1.40) is significantly associated with greater odds of being diagnosed with depression. The odds of being treated for depression are lower for female (vs. male, OR=0.53). Greater odds of being treated for depression was seen for those with chronic conditions (vs. no, OR=1.73) and activity limitation due to health problems (vs. no, OR=2.05), as well as, those in a sickbed (vs. not, OR=1.88). CONCLUSIONS: Applying our findings, policy makers should address the lower rates of depression diagnosed in non-metropolitan areas to reduce regional variations, and also promote treatment in females.
Administrative Personnel ; Adult* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Chronic Disease ; Depression* ; Diagnosis* ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Smoke ; Smoking

Background: As the government has recently been discussing the expansion of the disaster health expenses support project, we would like to confirm the characteristics of beneficiaries of the support project, particularly those of high-cost beneficiaries. Methods: Using the database of catastrophic health expenditure support project from 2019–2020, this study aims to confirm the characteristics of high-cost beneficiaries focusing on the overlap of the relieved out-of-pocket systems, known as the out-of-pocket ceiling system and the system for rare incurable diseases. Logistic regression analysis is used to examine this issue. Results: In order to analyze the factors influencing high-cost beneficiaries, five models were created and analyzed, including the status of duplicated beneficiaries for relieved out-of-pocket systems, sociodemographic and economic factors, and individual health status as sequential independent variables. All five models were statistically significant, of which economic factors had the greatest impact on the model’s predictions. The main results indicated that those who benefited from multiple systems in duplicate were more likely to be high-cost beneficiaries, and there is a higher probability of incurring high health expenses among the underage. In addition, within the beneficiaries of catastrophic health expenditure support project, it was observed that higher health insurance premium percentiles are associated with a higher proportion of high-cost beneficiaries. Conclusion This study examined the characteristics of high-cost beneficiaries by encompassing reimbursement and nonreimbursement. According to this study, it is expected to be used as basic data for setting priorities and improving the current criteria of catastrophic health expenditure support project, aiming to sequentially expand the program.

Background: The rapidly increasing socioeconomic strain caused by dementia represents a significant public health concern. Regional dementia centers (RDCs) have been established nationwide, and they aim to provide timely screening and diagnosis of dementia. This study investigated the clinical characteristics and progression of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia (AD), who underwent treatment in RDCs or conventional communitybased hospital systems. Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort study included patients who were diagnosed with AD between January 2019 and March 2022. This study compared two groups of patients: the hospital group, consisting of patients who presented directly to the hospital, and the RDC group, those who were referred to the hospital from the RDCs in Pohang city. The clinical courses of the patients were monitored for a year after AD diagnosis. Results: A total of 1,209 participants were assigned to the hospital (n = 579) or RDC group (n = 630). The RDC group had a mean age of 80.1 years ± 6.6 years, which was significantly higher than that of the hospital group (P < 0.001). The RDC group had a higher proportion of females (38.3% vs. 31.9%; P = 0.022), higher risk for alcohol consumption (12.4% vs. 3.3%; P < 0.001), and greater number of patients who discontinued treatment 1 year after diagnosis (48.3% vs. 39.0%; P = 0.001). In the linear regression model, the RDC group was independently associated with the clinical dementia rating sum of boxes increment (β = 22.360, R 2 = 0.048, and P < 0.001). Conclusion Patients in the RDC group were older, had more advanced stages of conditions, and exhibited a more rapid rate of cognitive decline than patients diagnosed through the conventional hospital system. Our results suggested that RDC contributed to the screening of AD in a local region, and further nationwide study with the RDC database of various areas of Korea is needed.

Background: Early-onset dementia (EOD) is still insufficiently considered for healthcare policies. We investigated the effect of socio-environmental factors on the long-term survival of patients with EOD. Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized the Korean National Health Insurance Database from 2007 to 2018. We enrolled 3,825 patients aged 40 to 65 years old with all types of dementia newly diagnosed in 2009 as EOD cases. We defined socioeconomic status using the national health insurance premium (NHIP) levels. Residential areas were classified into capital, metropolitan, city, and county levels. All-cause mortality was the primary outcome. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were employed. Further, Cox-proportional hazards models were established. Results: The mean survival of the fourth NHIP level group was 96.31 ± 1.20 months, whereas that of the medical-aid group was 85.53 ± 1.30 months (P < 0.001). The patients living in the capital had a mean survival of 95.73 ± 1.34 months, whereas those living in the county had 89.66 ± 1.75 months (P = 0.035). In the Cox-proportional hazards model, the medical-aid (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.67; P < 0.001), first NHIP level (aHR, 1.26; P = 0.012), and second NHIP level (aHR, 1.26; P = 0.008) groups were significantly associated with a higher long-term mortality risk. The capital residents exhibited a significantly lower long-term mortality risk than did the county residents (aHR, 0.82; P = 0.041). Conclusion Socioeconomic status and residential area are associated with long-term survival in patients with EOD. This study provides a rational basis for establishing a healthcare policy for patients with EOD.