Abstract

To investigate determinants of health care utilization of the physically, disabled over 20 years old in age living in Taegu city, a self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out for 337 disabled persons with chronic illness from April to July, 1997. Health care utilization rate was 81.9%(69.l% for hospital or clinic and 12.8% for pharmacy). Marital status, job, health concern, and response to illness showed statistically, significant relationship with health care utilization(p<0.05). By, path analysis, job, economic status, medical security type and response to illness had a significant direct effect on health care utilization(p<0.05), however, health concern and regular source of care had an indirect effect. The reasons of no health utilization were due to economic problem(31.l%), no symptom(18.0%), inconvenience to seek care or no accompanying persons to be helped(14.8%), unseriousness of the severity of the illness(14.8%), too busy to be treated or no free time(8.2%), hopeless prognosis to be treated(6.6%) in order. In conclusion, it is recommended that the program for expanding medicaid, improving socioeconomic status by getting a job and health education to increase the health Concern toward physically disabled should be implemented to increase health care utilization rate.

• Keywords: the disabled;health care utilization;determinants;path analysis