Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb 7;19(3):1871.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031871.

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in South Korea: Moderating Role of mHealth Technologies

Woohyun Yoo  1
Affiliations

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in South Korea: Moderating Role of mHealth Technologies

Woohyun Yoo. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) technologies may reduce or widen health inequalities. Despite the extensive literature in support of both of these contrasting views, little attention has been paid to the role of mHealth technologies with regard to social strata and health in the context of South Korea, a country with one of the highest usages of smartphones worldwide. This study examined the effects of social determinants on health self-efficacy and health status and explored how mHealth technologies moderate the impacts of social determinants on health outcomes. Data were collected via online surveys from 29 July to 3 August 2021. Survey data from 1187 Korean adults showed that men had higher levels of health self-efficacy than women. The higher an individual's education level, the greater their subjective health status. Individuals with higher levels of monthly household income, social capital, and healthcare quality reported higher levels of health self-efficacy and superior health status. The use of mHealth technologies moderated the associations between social determinants and health outcomes. Specifically, monthly household income and social capital had smaller effects on health self-efficacy and health status among those who used higher levels of mHealth technologies. Among higher users of mHealth technologies, females reported better health status than males, while men showed better health status than women in the low-user group. These findings highlight the effectiveness of mHealth technologies in addressing health disparities.

Keywords: health inequality; health self-efficacy; health status; mHealth; mobile health technology; social determinants of health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Research framework.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction effects between monthly household income and use of mHealth technologies on health self-efficacy.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interaction effects between social capital and use of mHealth technologies on health self-efficacy.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Interaction effects between gender and use of mHealth technologies on health status.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Interaction effects between social capital and use of mHealth technologies on health status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization . Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. WHO; Geneva, Switzerland: 2008. Final Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health.
    1. Samantha A., Hinton E. Beyond health care: The role of social determinants in promoting health and health equity. Health. 2019;20:219.
    1. Orellano P., Quaranta N., Reynoso J., Balbi B., Vasquez J. Effect of outdoor air pollution on asthma exacerbations in children and adults: Systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis. PLoS ONE. 2017;12:e0174050. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174050. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang R., Xue D., Liu Y., Liu P., Chen H. The relationship between air pollution and depression in China: Is neighbourhood social capital protective? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2018;15:1160. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061160. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adler N.E., Stewart J. Health disparities across the lifespan: Meaning, methods, and mechanisms. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 2010;1186:5–23. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05337.x. - DOI - PubMed