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Timely access to secondary pediatric services in Korea: a key to reducing child and adolescent mortality
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Minku Kang, Young June Choe, Hye Sook Min, Saerom Kim, Seung-Ah Choe
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Epidemiol Health. 2024;46:e2024059. Published online July 5, 2024
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2024059
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Geographic disparities in access to secondary pediatric care remain a significant issue in countries with universal health coverage, including Korea. This study investigated the link between geographic access to secondary pediatric care and mortality rates in children and adolescents (0-19 years) in Korea.
METHODS We analyzed district-level data to assess the percentage of those aged 0-19 years residing outside of a 60-minute travel radius from the nearest secondary pediatric care provider (accessibility vulnerability index, AVI).
RESULTS The AVI ranged from 0% to 100% across the districts for the study period. The confidence interval (CI) was -0.30 (95% CI, -0.41 to -0.19) in 2017 and -0.41 (95% CI, -0.52 to -0.30) in 2021, indicating that the proportion of those who could not access care within 60 minutes was disproportionately higher in districts with lower socioeconomic status. We found 8% rise in mortality rates among individuals aged 0-19 years for every 10% increase in AVI (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.10).
CONCLUSIONS The study highlights disparities in pediatric care access and their impact on child survival, emphasizing the need for improved access to achieve true universal health coverage.
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Summary
Korean summary
본 연구는 한국에서 소아 의료 서비스에 대한 지리적 접근성과 아동 사망률 사이의 연관성을 조사하여, 특히 COVID-19 대유행 기간 동안 접근성 제한이 높은 사망률과 관련이 있음을 발견하였다. 이 연구는 아동 및 청소년의 예방 가능한 사망률에 대한 지역 격차를 줄이기 위해 시기적절한 치료 접근성을 개선해야 할 필요성을 강조하였다.
Key Message
The study investigated the link between geographic access to pediatric services and child mortality in South Korea, finding that limited access, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, was associated with higher mortality. The research highlights the need for improved access to timely care to reduce regional disparities in preventable deaths among children and adolescents.
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Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by  - Global paediatric workforce crisis: lessons from South Korea
Young June Choe, Kee-Hyoung Lee
Archives of Disease in Childhood.2024; : archdischild-2024-327893. CrossRef
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