title: Association between unmet healthcare needs and health-related quality of life: a longitudinal study.
abstract: As life expectancy has increased overall, health-related quality of life is now more important than ever. This is especially relevant in countries such as South Korea that are concerned about unmet healthcare needs and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Thus, we investigated the relationship between unmet healthcare needs and HRQoL in the general population.
  
  
  
  We used data from the 2011 to 2013 Korea Health Panel Survey, which included data from 8150 baseline participants of 19 years of age or older. We measured HRQoL using the EQ-5D and EQ-VAS indices. In addition, we used generalized estimating equations to perform a longitudinal regression analysis.
  
  
  
  Approximately 13.1% of the participants (n = 1068) experienced unmet healthcare needs. Individuals with unmet healthcare needs due to economic hardship tended to have lower values than those without unmet healthcare needs for EQ-5D and EQ-VAS indices (EQ-5D: -2.688, P < 0.0001; EQ-VAS: -5.256, P < 0.0001). Additionally, when stratified by gender, both male and female subjects who had unmet healthcare needs and low economic status had a drastic decrease in HRQoL regardless of the reasons for their unmet healthcare needs.
  
  
  
  Unmet healthcare needs influences HRQoL, which was more pronounced in economically vulnerable groups. Thus, interventions to address HRQoL problems should focus on implementing a guarantee of healthcare services for economically vulnerable groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yeong Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Department of Hospital Administration, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Hyun
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyu-Tae
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Woorim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ah Lee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Cheol
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult