Factors Affecting Unmet Healthcare Needs among Adults with Chronic Diseases

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#In adults with chronic diseases, unmet healthcare needs are likely to increase the risk of worsening the illness and complications. This study was conducted to explore factors affecting unmet healthcare needs among adults with chronic diseases. @*Methods@#A cross sectional study was performed using the data from the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES Ⅶ), 2016-2017. The sample of this study consisted of 6,104 adults with chronic diseases. The data were analyzed by Rao-Scott x2 test and logistic regression using complex samples analysis. @*Results@#The proportion of subjects who experienced unmet healthcare needs was 10.9% of adults with chronic diseases. The factors affecting unmet healthcare needs of adults with chronic diseases were age, gender, employment status, household income, subjective health status, activity limitation, and perceived stress. @*Conclusion@#The findings of this study suggest that various factors may be associated with their unmet healthcare needs. Finally, the development of strategies to reduce unmet healthcare needs for people with chronic diseases should consider the associated factors presented in the study.