Beyond medical insurance: delayed or forgone care among children in Chinese immigrant families.
While Asian Americans are less likely than most Americans to use health services, little is known about their barriers to pediatric care. This study seeks to describe the prevalence of delayed/forgone pediatric care and its association with parental acculturation status in recent-immigrant Chinese families. Survey data were obtained from 76 families across two community services sites. Half of the surveyed families reported delayed/forgone pediatric care in the previous 12 months. Low-income families in suburban areas reported greater financial burdens, linguistic barriers, and a higher prevalence of delayed/forgone care than low-income families living in downtown area. Middle class immigrant families reported cultural barriers as a reason for delayed/forgone care. Traditional beliefs and not medical insurance were significant predictors of delayed/forgone care. Culturally and linguistically appropriate studies on risk reduction interventions will be needed to address the linguistic and cultural barriers to health care access.
Huang
Z Jennifer
ZJ
Department of International Health, Georgetown University, School of Nursing and Health Studies, 3700 Reservoir Road, NW, Box 571107, Washington, DC 20057, USA. zh34@georgetown.edu
Yu
Stella M
SM
Liu
Xiao Wei
XW
Young
Darwin
D
Wong
Frank Y
FY
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004219:District of Columbia; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio