title: Identifying and intervening on barriers to healthcare access among members of a small Korean community in the southern USA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We used community-based participatory research (CBPR) to explore barriers to healthcare access and utilization and identify potentially effective intervention strategies to increase access among members of the Korean community in North Carolina (NC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Our CBPR partnership conducted 8 focus groups with 63 adult Korean immigrants in northwest NC and 15 individual in-depth interviews and conducted an empowerment-based community forum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 20 themes that we organized into four domains, including practical barriers to health care, negative perceptions about care, contingencies for care, and provider misconceptions about local needs. Forum attendees identified four strategies to improve Korean community health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), many Korean community members will continue to remain uninsured, and among those who obtain insurance, many barriers will remain. It is imperative to ensure the health of this highly neglected and vulnerable community.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Potential strategies include the development of (1) low-literacy materials to educate members of the Korean community about how to access healthcare services, (2) lay health advisor programs to support navigation of service access and utilization, (3) church-based programming, and (4) provider education to reduce misconceptions about Korean community needs.
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest School of Medicine, USA. Electronic address: SRhodes@wakehealth.edu.
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Rhodes
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Eunyoung
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: George Mason University, USA.
authors.forename: Sang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: New England Discovery Partners, USA.
authors.forename: Seungyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007723:Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012938:Social Perception; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: CBPR; Forum; Healthcare access; Immigrant; Korean American