The purpose of this study is to explore health inequality among disabled people in South Korea. More often than not, disabled people have been considered as “unhealthy people,” and the concept of health was confused with impairment. Though, this study assumes that disabled people can certainly live healthy lives and aimed to prevent their impairments from leading to unhealthiness due to social barriers. This study considers the social model of disability, which regards disability as social constructions, and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework, which includes diverse domains as factors related to health. The concept of health inequality and social determinants of health that covered in health inequality research is also focused on. Approaching the health issue of disabled people with this framework, this study explores the socio-economic features of health of disabled people.
This thesis adopts the explanatory sequential model, a mixed-method of a quantitative and qualitative approach, prioritising quantitative. The quantitative approach, carrying out the secondary data analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, is carried out to illustrate the actual condition of disabled people, including health problems compared to that of non-disabled people. Between and within the health inequality of non-disabled people and disabled people and the impact factors are also pointed out through quantitative analysis.
The research results demonstrate that the health gap, according to socio-economic status within disabled people, is larger than those within non-disabled people. This implies that with adequate sources and intervention, the health inequality of disabled people can be reduced effectively. The qualitative approach demonstrates the diverse aspects of secondary impairments and barriers in health service use, which influence disabled people’s health. Qualitative data are collected from focus groups and interviews of 26 disabled people about their healthcare service use experiences, and thematic analysis is performed. A synthesis of both approaches is following, deepening the findings from each data analysis. In the discussion, the concept of disability and health is reviewed in relation to the method of this study. Also, the perception about the health of disabled people and their health inequality social determinants of health are discussed. Lastly, this thesis demonstrates that the health inequality of disabled people, even within them, can be tackled by social intervention and suggests the policy implications to improve the health of disabled people.
