Rate of mental health service utilization by Chinese immigrants in British Columbia.
OBJECTIVE
Reports suggest that immigrants are under-served by the mental health service system. The aim of this study is to examine the rates of mental health visits and hospitalization of Chinese immigrants in British Columbia using historic administrative databases.


METHODS
A total of more than 150,000 Chinese immigrants who landed in BC between 1985 and 2000 were identified from an immigration database which was linked to the province's administrative health records, as part of a national study on immigrant health. Controls were individually matched to immigrants by sex, age and region and randomly selected from the general BC population.


RESULTS
Preliminary results confirm that, while Chinese immigrants use less overall health care than controls, the difference in utilization rates is particularly pronounced with regard to mental health problems, especially for visits to psychiatrists and psychiatric hospitalization.


CONCLUSIONS
The under-utilization of mental health services may reflect better health status, ongoing barriers to access, or other factors. There are different implications for health policy-makers. Further research is necessary to determine the reasons for the low rates of utilization.
Chen
Alice W
AW
Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, University of British Columbia, 5804 Fairview Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3. alice.chen@canada.com
Kazanjian
Arminée
A
D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001955:British Columbia; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D017678:Sex Distribution