Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Background & Aim: Access to healthcare service can affect cancer incidence and mortality. The purpose of this study was to identify the association between transfer and mortality among patients with cancer.

Method: Data were from a population-based cohort of National Health Insurance (NHI) claims. The study population was comprised of patients living more than 200 km from Seoul with cancer diagnosed during a nine-year period (2004-2012). The final sample included 8,197 patients with cancer: 3,939 males (48.1%) and 4,258 females (51.9%). A Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the hazard ratio for death. Confounding variables including gender, age, type of social security, income level and disability were incorporated into the model.

Results: Among cancer patients living in the province, 2,874 (35.1%) utilized healthcare services in Seoul. About 10% (n=834) of patients died during the follow-up period. The Heart Rate (HR) for death of patients utilizing healthcare services in Seoul (HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.09~1.45) was higher than for patients who did not utilize healthcare services in Seoul. Among patients not utilizing healthcare services in Seoul, the survival probability of the rich was significantly higher than that of others.

Conclusion: Education and support are essential for cancer prevention and early detection, particularly for vulnerable social groups. To remove cancer disparities, limited access to high-quality healthcare services must be addressed. High-quality healthcare services should be equally distributed across rural markets.

Biography

Jung Kyu Choi has an expertise in evaluating the health insurance and analyzing healthcare big-data.

E-mail: yolong21@nhimc.or.kr