This research investigated whether the availability of medical resources in one's residential community affects the likelihood of experiencing unmet healthcare needs in South Korea, a nation where population concentration is a growing concern. Two open-access datasets were analyzed: the individual-level Korean Community Health Survey and regional-level Korean medical utilization statistics, comprising 176,378 participants. Because individuals are nested within regions, a multilevel analytical design was adopted, integrating demographic characteristics and health-related variables from the individual level.
Residents of small cities and rural regions that possessed sufficient healthcare resources showed 1.26 times higher odds of unmet healthcare needs compared to those in well-equipped metropolitan areas. The greatest adjusted odds ratio, 1.32, was observed among people living in small cities and rural communities with inadequate medical resources. Stratified analyses indicated the widest income-related gap in unmet healthcare needs in areas with ample resources; individuals with the lowest income were 1.77 times more likely to report unmet needs than those with the highest income. In metropolitan regions, income disparities were similarly evident, with the lowest-income group having an adjusted odds ratio of 1.66. These results indicate that residing in smaller cities or rural regions with poor medical infrastructure—and having a low income even where services are adequate—substantially heightens the risk of unmet healthcare needs. The findings highlight the importance of equitable regional distribution of medical resources and public health policies that prevent socioeconomic obstacles from restricting access to care.
