Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and usage patterns of traditional Korean herbal medicine users, as well as the factors related to traditional Korean herbal medicine usage, using data from the 2020 Korean Medical Panel. Methods: Characteristics between traditional Korean herbal medicine users and non-users were compared using the chi-squared test. Additionally, binomial logistic regression analysis was employed to analyze the factors influencing traditional Korean herbal medicine usage. Andersen's healthcare utilization model was used to examine factors that potentially influenced the usage of traditional Korean herbal medicine. Results: Analysis using Andersen's healthcare utilization model revealed significant differences in factors influencing traditional Korean herbal medicine usage. Predisposing factors such as age and region; enabling factors such as annual household income; and need factors such as the presence of chronic diseases and the number of chronic disease episodes were all significant. Conclusions: Further research on the various factors influencing the use of traditional Korean herbal medicine could extend beyond short-term policy challenges to explore individual health issues and the direction of health care policy from a broader, macro perspective.