Full-time workers with precarious employment face lower protection for receiving annual health check-ups.

BACKGROUND

Precarious employment is one of the social determinants of health. In 2010, 34.4% of Japanese workers fell into this employment category. The purpose of our study was to assess whether the use of annual health check-ups varied by worker contract type.

METHODS

Using 2007 nationally representative survey data, we compared the annual health check-up compliance of permanently employed full-time workers versus that of precariously employed workers (hourly, dispatched, and fixed-term workers).

RESULTS

Dispatched workers and hourly workers received health check-ups less often compared with permanent workers. Hourly young male workers received health check-ups five times less frequently than permanent workers. The percentage of workers who consulted a physician after receiving advice to do so did not differ by employment types, except in older men.

CONCLUSIONS

In Japan, workers with precarious employment, most notably hourly and dispatched workers, had a lower rate of health check-ups compared with full-time workers in permanent positions.