title: Health Literacy and Its Link to Healthcare Service Utilization Among Older Adults in Korea.
abstract: Existing studies report a negative association between health literacy and hospital/emergency room use. Despite substantial research on this topic among older Americans, little is known about the link between health literacy and healthcare services use among older Koreans. This study investigates this link, using a sample of 596 adults, 65 and older, from Korea's three largest cities. Andersen's behavior model guided the study. Findings revealed that participants with higher health literacy were significantly less likely to use emergent health services. Enhanced health literacy will likely promote better health outcomes for older Koreans and reduce Korea's healthcare costs.
authors.affiliation: a Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University , Gyeonggi-Do , South Korea.
authors.forename: Young Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: b Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development , University of Minnesota , Twin Cities, Minneapolis , Minnesota , USA.
authors.forename: Parmananda
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khatiwoda
authors.affiliation: c Department of Social Welfare , Pusan National University , Busan , South Korea.
authors.forename: Byung Hyun
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: d School of Social Work, University of Minnesota , Twin Cities, St. Paul , Minnesota , USA.
authors.forename: Hee Yun
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea
keywords: Health literacy; Korean older adults; health services utilization; healthcare cost; quality healthcare