우리나라 중고령자의 한방외래의료 이용관련 요인 연구 : 2010-2014년 국민건강영양조사 자료를 이용하여

Abstract

With the population of Korea aging much faster than other countries and the aspects of diseases consequently changing to chronic geriatric conditions, the quality of health and extension of healthy life are being stressed as key health issues. For the analysis of factors of over 45 patients’ use of Korean traditional medicine clinics, the 2010 ~ 2014 National Health and Nutrition Survey data were used to compare and check whether the outpatients of Western medicine and Traditional Korean Medicine(TKM) clinics are visiting the clinics with regard to the social demographic factors, health and functions-related factors, or factors such as chronic conditions. The total analysis target number was 5,947 and the results are as follows: In terms of the social demographic factors, the odds ratios of use of TKM clinics in 2013 and 2014 were 1.56(95% CI=1.13-2.16) and 1.58(95% CI=1.17-2.15), respectively, which were statistically significantly higher compared to 2010. With regard to the health and functions-related factors, the group with no pain or discomfort was the reference group, and the odds ratio of the group with slight pain or discomfort was 1.87(95% CI=1.49-2.35) whereas that of the group with severe pain or discomfort was 2.32(95% CI=1.55-3.50). The use of outpatient services in TKM clinics was statistically significantly high when the pain or discomfort was more serious. The use of the hospitalized group, however, was statistically significantly lower than the non-hospitalized group with ratio of 0.63(95% CI=0.47-0.85). In terms of chronic condition factors, the rates of the group with circulation-related conditions or endocrinology or metabolism conditions were 0.68(95% CI=0.56-0.83) and 0.66(95% CI=0.51-0.87), respectively, which were statistically significantly lower than the normal group with no chronic conditions. In detail, the group with hypertension in the circulation-related groups and the group with diabetes in the groups with endocrinology and metabolism conditions visited TKM clinics less often with 0.69(95% CI=0.57-0.84) and 0.63(95% CI=0.47-0.83), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant. This research was done by classifying and analyzing the factors related to the use of Korean traditional medical clinics of over 45 outpatients into social demographic factors, health and function-related factors, and chronic conditions factors. This study is meaningful in terms of the classification of chronic conditions and analysis of factors in the use of traditional Korean medicine clinic outpatient services that have not been done by past studies sufficiently. The results of this study show that more patients visit Korean traditional medical clinics when they experience more serious pain or discomfort, whereas patients who have been hospitalized or with chronic conditions such as circulation-related conditions and endocrinology and metabolism conditions made few visits. The results suggest that in-depth studies on the relation between chronic conditions and use of TKM should be done and services for the prevention, treatment, and management of conditions for over 45 patients should be developed instead of simple treatment of pains. In other words, approaches to scientific and standardized TKM for each condition are required to be prepared for the era of aging population. With this, investment and policy supports for studies on the improvement of health and quality of life of middle-aged and elderly Koreans should be done to prepare thorough countermeasures in dealing with the rapidly aging population. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the establishment of healthcare policies to improve the health and quality of life of middle-aged and elderly people efficiently and effectively using limited resources to be prepared for the aged population.