Study: Vaccination among North Korean defectors correlated to health awareness

Aug. 22 (UPI) -- North Korean defectors who resettle in the South have an immunization rate of less than 30 percent, although they understand Korean and receive public health updates in the country, according to a South Korean study.

Park Sang-min of Seoul National University Hospital said he studied 399 defectors from August through December in 2012, Yonhap reported Wednesday.

The defectors were surveyed for their understanding of health communications and whether they had been vaccinated for common diseases, such as influenza, according to the report.

The two factors, health understanding and immunization rates, were studied for possible correlations.

Understanding of health information includes a basic understanding of health and medical services, health maintenance and disease prevention.

Of the 399 defectors surveyed, 29 percent, or 119 people, had been vaccinated against the flu.

Immunization rates were significantly different, depending on the individual's understanding of health information, the study showed.

The evaluation, based on a scale where the highest score is a 12 for health understanding, showed subjects who scored below a nine had a lower than average flu vaccination rate, or 19.7 percent.

Those with relatively high health information understanding, with a score of 10 or higher, had a higher than average immunization rate, or 31 percent.

Ju Im-won of South Korea's National Cancer Center, and a chief researcher on the study, said the research is the first of its kind to show the correlation between the understanding of health information of defectors and the rate of their use of preventive healthcare, local news service The Medical News reported Wednesday.

Park said the study helps to enhance the health understanding of other migrants in Korea.