Health Policy Manag.  2021 Mar;31(1):100-113. 10.4332/KJHPA.2021.31.1.100.

Regional Gaps in Health Status Estimated by Amenable Mortality Rate in Korea

• Baek SJ
• Kim H
• Lee DH
• Jeong HS

• KMID: 2514666
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4332/KJHPA.2021.31.1.100

Abstract

Background
This study aims to figure out the gaps in health status by estimating amenable mortality rate by region, reflecting the characteristics of Korea, and estimating the years of life lost (YLL) per capita by disease.
Methods
People who died from amenable diseases between 2008 and 2018 were extracted from the cause of death statistics provided by Statistics Korea. The age-standardized amenable mortality rates were estimated to compare the health status of 229 regions. YLL per capita was calculated to compute the burden of diseases caused by treatable deaths by region. The YLL per capita by region was calculated to identify the burden of disease caused by amenable deaths.
Results
First, while the annual amenable mortality rate in Korea is on a steady decline, but there is still a considerable gap between urban and rural areas when comparing the mortality rates of 229 areas. Second, YLL per capita due to the amenable deaths is approximately 14 person-years during the analysis period (2008–2018).
Conclusion
Although the health status of Koreans has continuously improved, there is still a gap in health status region by region in terms of amenable mortality rates. Amenable death accounts for a loss of life equivalent to 14 person-years per year. Since the amenable mortality rate is an indicator that can measure the performance of the health care system, efforts at each local area are required to lower it.

Keyword

Regional health status gaps; Amenable mortality; Age-adjusted death rate; Years of life lost