손윤정1, 김현준1, 정혜진1, 황인영1, 김무영1, 이수형1, 박기현1, 박기호2, 김채봉3, 임 향4, 이지영5

1서울의료원 가정의학과, 2국립암센터 암예방사업과, 3서울의료원 환경건강연구실, 4SN 통합복지센터, 5경기대학교 정치전문대학원

have been struggling with health problems due to their poor
health status and the differences in medical system
and terminology between South and North Korea. We aimed
to investigate the level of health literacy and its related
factors in North Korean refugees.
Methods: This study was conducted with 142 patients who
visited North Korean refugees' counseling center at
Seoul Medical Center and National Central Medical Center
and 100 South Korean patients who visited outpatient
clinics or Health Promotion Center of Seoul Medical Center.
General and health-related characteristics
were surveyed through a questionnaire and health literacy
was measured by using ‘Korean Adult Health
Literacy Scale’.
Results: The average age of North Korean refugees was
48.92±11.49 years old. Almost 95% reported that their
monthly income was less than 2 million KRW. The survey
showed that North Korean refugees obtain health information
mainly through TV, radio, and acquaintances and more than
half (54.9%) said their health was bad or
very bad. The mean score of North Korean refugees' health
literacy was much lower than that of South Koreans
(12.42±7.58 vs. 25.3±5.7, P<0.001). This discrepancy was
maintained after adjusting related factors such as
age, sex, and socioeconomic status with stratified analysis.
Conclusions: It suggest the urgent need for policies which
support for futher researches and development of
education system, which may lead to the improvememt of
the health literacy of North Korean regugees.
Korean J Health Promot 2017;17(2):71-79
Keywords: Health literacy, Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, Refugees