Background@#This study investigated the demand for and
awareness of a
primary healthcare pilot project for
people with disabilities; it also sought to identify relevant determinants for demand and
awareness using Andersen’s behavioral model of
health service use. @*
Methods@#This study is a
secondary analysis of data from the
population-based
survey conducted in Gyeonggi Regional
Health & Medical Center for
People with Disabilities. The data was designed with quota random sampling based on the
population with disabilities in each district (city [si] and county [gun]) across the Gyeonggi province (do) to evaluate the
health and
healthcare accessibility of the disabled people living in the Gyeonggi province. The data was collected through the mobile-based
survey of 1,140
people with disabilities living in Gyeonggi-do between March 2021 and June 2021. @*Results@#
Awareness of the service (12.1%) was remarkably low, while the demand (80.5%) was high. The gap between
respondents who needed the service but were unaware of it differed according to age,
education,
activities of daily living,
health information sources,
chronic disease,
depression,
subjective health status, and unmet
healthcare needs.
Chronic disease (
odds ratio [OR], 1.86; P = 0.001) and an unmet need for
medical care (OR, 2.30;P= 0.002) had significant influences on demand for the service. Furthermore,
living alone (OR, 0.42; P = 0.023), medical
aid program beneficiary status (OR, 2.10; P = 0.020), access to
health information from
health service centers (OR, 4.00; P = 0.002),
chronic disease (OR, 1.68; P = 0.043), severity of disability (OR, 1.78; P = 0.025), and
subjective health status (OR, 4.51; P < 0.001) significantly affected
awareness of the program. @*Conclusion@#
Chronic disease and an unmet need for
medical care were key determinants of service demand, while the severity of disability was not. Thus, there is a need to
review the initiative that defines service beneficiaries as people with severe disabilities.
Policy makers should consider
advertising programs to improve service
awareness among
people with disabilities.