Access to Medical Services in Korean People With Spinal Cord Injury

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the accessibility of medical services for Korean people with spinal cord injury (SCI) compared to the control group (CG) and to evaluate significantly related factors. METHODS: A total of 363 community dwelling people with chronic SCI were enrolled and 1,089 age- and sex-matched subjects were randomly selected from the general population as the CG. Self-reported access to medical services was measured by asking "Have you experienced the need for a hospital visit in the last year but could not?". This was followed up by asking the reasons for not receiving services when medically necessary. Variables, including lack of finances, difficulties making medical appointments, and lack of transportation were evaluated for accessibility to medical services. RESULTS: Sixty subjects (16.5%) in the SCI group had difficulties receiving medical services due to a lack of accessibility, compared to 45 (4.1%) in the CG (p<0.001). Variables causing difficulties receiving medical services were lack of transportation (27 persons, 45%), lack of finances (24 persons, 40%), and difficulty scheduling hospital appointments (9 persons, 15%) in the SCI group. In the CG, availability (lack of available time) and acceptability (deciding not to visit the hospital due to mild symptoms) were the reasons for not receiving medical care. CONCLUSION: People with SCI experienced limited accessibility to medical services, which was due to environmental rather than personal factors compared to that in the CG. Therefore, development of social policies to reduce or remove environmental variables is necessary.