Timely access to secondary pediatric services in Korea: a key to reducing child and adolescent mortality

Geographic disparities in access to secondary pediatric care remain a significant issue in countries with universal health coverage, including Korea. This study investigated the link between geographic access to secondary pediatric care and mortality rates in children and adolescents (0-19 years) in Korea.

We analyzed district-level data to assess the percentage of those aged 0-19 years residing outside of a 60-minute travel radius from the nearest secondary pediatric care provider (accessibility vulnerability index, AVI).

The AVI ranged from 0% to 100% across the districts for the study period. The confidence interval (CI) was -0.30 (95% CI, -0.41 to -0.19) in 2017 and -0.41 (95% CI, -0.52 to -0.30) in 2021, indicating that the proportion of those who could not access care within 60 minutes was disproportionately higher in districts with lower socioeconomic status. We found 8% rise in mortality rates among individuals aged 0-19 years for every 10% increase in AVI (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.10).

The study highlights disparities in pediatric care access and their impact on child survival, emphasizing the need for improved access to achieve true universal health coverage.