title: Coping with a New Health Culture: Acculturation and Online Health Information Seeking Among Chinese Immigrants in the United States.
abstract: As a culturally diverse country, the U.S. hosts over 39 million immigrants who may experience various cultural and linguistic obstacles to receiving quality health care. Considering online sources an important alternative for immigrants to access health information, this study investigates how Chinese immigrants in the U.S. seek health information online. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese immigrants who currently live in the U.S. to understand how acculturation strategies they use to adapt to the host society influence their Internet-based health information seeking behaviors. Our findings revealed that the language and web sources immigrants choose to use can be predicted by the acculturation strategies they utilize to cope with the new culture. This study serves as a timely and imperative call for further consideration of the role that acculturation plays in determining how immigrants seek health information and utilize the healthcare services of their host society.
authors.affiliation: Department of Advertising and Public Relations, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151 ST., ACII-328, North Miami, FL, 33181, USA, weirwang@fiu.edu.
authors.forename: Weirui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000379:methods*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult