It has been apparent that improving the health of the lower class is the key to enhancing the level of national health. The goals of this paper are as follow. First, this study analyzes the health inequality among social classes in South Korea and inv ...
It has been apparent that improving the health of the lower class is the key to enhancing the level of national health. The goals of this paper are as follow. First, this study analyzes the health inequality among social classes in South Korea and investigates its characteristic. Second, the resources which can mitigate the health gap between classes are explored in this study. In short, this study investigates the resources that improve the health of the socially disadvantaged class efficiently. Six dimensions of factors such as social relational resource, psychological resource, activity factor, health practice factor, medical service factor, and the characteristics of area of residence are considered as health related factors. To achieve the goals of this study, this study used all available social survey data, and conducted an independent social survey which is based on the nationally representative sample of 2,028 adults. The depth interviews on 33 individuals from the low-income bracket, in addition to the allocation of gender and age, were implemented. The main findings of this study can be broadly summarized as follows. First, there were disparities in physical and mental health according to the level of education, income level, employment status, and family background (e.g., parents’ educational level, divorce). Second, the proposed six dimensions of factors were closely correlated with physical and mental health and there were particular resources that more strongly correlated with the heath of the disadvantaged. Lastly, the quality of family relationship (amicability, satisfaction), psychological resources (sense of control, self-esteem), and the quality of leisure activity (especially participation in sports activities) showed a strong relationship with the physical and mental health of the disadvantaged. These three dimensions of health resources constitute the special resources that can mitigate the health inequality by improving the health of the disadvantaged.