KSPM
Search
- Page Path
- HOME > Search
Original Articles
- Exploring the Role of Social Welfare Expenditures in Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults in Korea
- Ji-Su Lee, Eun Sil Yoon, Yeongchae Song, Seowoo Park, Young Kyung Do
- J Prev Med Public Health. 2025;58(4):370-378. Published online February 18, 2025
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.24.403
- 3,774 View
- 318 Download
-
Abstract
Summary
PDF - Objectives
This study aimed to explore the role of community-level social welfare expenditures in depressive symptoms among older adults in Korea, with a particular focus on living arrangements.
Methods
Multi-level data—comprising individual-level data from the 2019 Community Health Survey and regional-level data from the Korean Statistical Information Service—were analyzed using multi-level ordered logistic regression. The dependent variable was the severity of depressive symptoms as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score, and the primary independent variables were per capita social welfare expenditure, living arrangements, and their cross-level interaction term.
Results
Older adults living alone exhibited more severe depressive symptoms compared to those living with others (odds ratio [OR], 1.22; p=0.006). Higher community social welfare expenditure was significantly associated with reduced depressive symptom severity (OR, 0.73; p=0.019). Moreover, the protective effect of social welfare expenditure was more pronounced among older adults living alone than among those not living alone (OR, 0.92; p=0.046). Social welfare expenditure was highly correlated with social cohesion, which weakened its independent association with depressive symptoms.
Conclusions
This study highlights the potential of community-level social welfare expenditure to mitigate depressive symptoms among older adults, particularly those who live alone. In light of the rising number of older adults living alone, these findings suggest that non-medical interventions, such as enhanced social welfare programs, may help alleviate depression in this vulnerable population. The strong positive correlation between social welfare expenditure and social cohesion also raises further research questions regarding their interrelationship. -
SummaryKorean summary
자치단체의 일인당 사회복지 지출이 증가할수록 해당 지역에 거주하는 노인의 우울 증상이 전반적으로 감소하는 결과를 보였고 이러한 연관성은 특히 독거 노인에게서 더 뚜렷하게 나타났다. 이 결과는 노인인구 규모 및 독거 노인 비율의 증가가 초래할 수 있는 노인 정신 건강의 부정적 영향을 비의료적, 사회적 개입을 통해 완화할 수 있음을 시사한다.Key Message
Higher community-level social welfare expenditure was associated with lower severity of depressive symptoms among older adults, with this association more pronounced among those living alone. Given the rising number of older adults living alone, these findings highlight the potential of non-medical, social interventions to alleviate depression in this vulnerable population.
- A Multi-level Analysis of Factors Affecting Participation in Health Screenings in Korea: A Focus on Household and Regional Factors
- So Yoon Park, Young-jeon Shin
- J Prev Med Public Health. 2022;55(2):153-163. Published online October 27, 2021
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.21.268
- 14,612 View
- 177 Download
- 11 Web of Science
- 12 Crossref
-
Abstract
Summary
PDF
Supplementary Material - Objectives
This study divided the factors that affect participation in health screenings into individual, household, and regional levels and conducted a multi-level analysis to identify the factors related to participation in health screenings.
Methods
Participants from the 2017 Community Health Survey were classified into 2 groups (under 40 and 40 or older). A multi-level logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors that affected participation in health screenings.
Results
The screening rate of the participants was 69.7%, and it was higher among participants aged 40 and older (80.3%) than it was among participants younger than 40 (49.8%). At the individual level, the factors that influenced participation in health screenings included age, economic activity, smoking status, physician-diagnosed hypertension, and a moderate or high physical activity level. At the household level, the odds ratio of participation in health screenings was high for participants who lived in single-person households, lived with a spouse, earned a high monthly household income, and were not beneficiaries of national basic livelihood security. At the regional level, the odds ratio at the 95% confidence interval level of participation in health screenings was high for participants who had trust in the local community and lived in an area with a proportionally high social welfare budget.
Conclusions
This study analyzed nationalwide data and confirmed that individual, household, and regional characteristics affected participation in health screenings. Therefore, policies that prioritize the improvement of regional level factors and especially household level factors are likely to be the most effective for improving the screening rate. -
SummaryKorean summary
이 연구는 건강검진 수검 여부에 영향을 미치는 요인을 개인, 가구, 지역수준으로 나누어 다수준 분석을 통해 분석하였다. 건강검진 수검여부에 개인 특성뿐만 아니라 개인을 둘러싼 가구와 지역의 특성도 영향을 미친다는 것을 확인하였다. 영향요인들의 유의성을 바탕으로, 건강검진 수검률 향상을 위한 정책을 수립할 때 지역수준 요인뿐만 아니라 특별히 가구수준 요인을 개선할 수 있는 정책을 우선하는 것이 효과적일 것이다. -
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
- Community-level social capital and participation in health checkups among older adults in Japan: a cross-sectional study
Hitomi Matsuura, Yoko Hatono
Frontiers in Public Health.2026;[Epub] CrossRef - Necessity of Analyzing the Korea Community Health Survey Using 7 Local Government Types
Seowoo Park, Haibin Bai, Jae-ryun Lee, Soomin Kim, Hyemin Jung, Jin Yong Lee
Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health.2025; 58(1): 83. CrossRef - Understanding Cancer Screening Behavior in South Korea: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Regional Differences
Yoon-Hee Cho, Joohyun Lee
Healthcare.2025; 13(6): 664. CrossRef - Regional population decline and health screening uptake in Korean adults: nationwide study using multilevel regression analysis
Wonjeong Jeong, Woorim Kim, Kyu-Tae Han
Frontiers in Public Health.2025;[Epub] CrossRef - Long-term exposure to air pollution and lung cancer incidence: findings from improved exposure assessment and extended population
Jeongho Park, Ok-Jin Kim, Miyoun Shin, Euijun Choi, Sungchan Kang, Seung-Sik Hwang, Young-Jae Cho, Sun-Young Kim
Cancer Causes & Control.2025; 36(10): 1119. CrossRef - Participation in Health Screening and Associated Factors
Jung-Whan Lee
Journal of Health Informatics and Statistics.2025; 50(3): 258. CrossRef - Prediction model of health checkup and cancer screening experience of elderly population using 2021 Community Health Survey
Myeunghee Han
Research in Community and Public Health Nursing.2024; 35: 140. CrossRef - Sociodigital Determinants of eHealth Literacy and Related Impact on Health Outcomes and eHealth Use in Korean Older Adults: Community-Based Cross-Sectional Survey
Myat Yadana Kyaw, Myo Nyein Aung, Yuka Koyanagi, Saiyud Moolphate, Thin Nyein Nyein Aung, Hok Ka Carol Ma, Hocheol Lee, Hae-Kweun Nam, Eun Woo Nam, Motoyuki Yuasa
JMIR Aging.2024; 7: e56061. CrossRef - Association between life satisfaction, self-esteem, and health checkup participation: A population-based longitudinal study in South Korea
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
Preventive Medicine.2024; 189: 108127. CrossRef - Association between depressive symptoms and participation in influenza vaccination and health checkups: Findings from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
General Hospital Psychiatry.2024; 91: 180. CrossRef - Sex-specific Associations between Body Mass Index and Thyroid Cancer Incidence among Korean Adults
Kyoung-Nam Kim, Kyungsik Kim, Sangjun Lee, Sue K. Park
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.2023; 32(9): 1227. CrossRef - Factors Associated with Willingness toward Organ Donation in China: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Analysis Using a Social–Ecological Framework
Mengjun Zeng, Haomiao Li, Xiaohui Song, Jipin Jiang, Yingchun Chen
Healthcare.2023; 11(6): 824. CrossRef
- Community-level social capital and participation in health checkups among older adults in Japan: a cross-sectional study
English Abstract
- Neighborhood Characteristics and Individual Health under Korean Context.
- Sung Won Jung, Young Tae Cho
- J Prev Med Public Health. 2005;38(3):259-266.
- 2,952 View
- 48 Download
-
Abstract
PDF
- Recently much attention has been paid to the effect of neighborhood characteristics on the health of individuals, independent of individual demographic and/or socioeconomic characteristics. Although many empirical studies of a kind, mostly based on Western society, have appeared on various international journals, few studies have shown empirical evidence of neighborhood characteristics as an independent and significant risk factor of ill health in Korea. This paper discusses possible reasons that neighborhood seems to be neither significant nor substantial regarding its impact on the health of Koreans. Addressing the uniqueness of Korean society regarding the concept of neighborhood, attributes of neighborhoods, and methodological challenges, authors suggest that more sophisticated conceptual and methodological approach, specific to Korean society, should enable to reveal the effect of neighborhood characteristics on individual health in Korea.
-
Summary
First
Prev
