Immigrant Status, Resilience, and Perceived Oral Health Among Chinese Americans in Hawaii

• Published in: Research on aging Vol. 42; no. 5-6; pp. 186 - 195
• Main Authors: Wu, Bei, Pei, Yaolin, Zhang, Wei, Northridge, Mary
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2020; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Asian Americans; Asian cultural groups; Chinese Americans; Dental insurance; Disadvantaged; Health problems; Health status; Immigrants; Noncitizens; Older people; Oral health; Oral hygiene; Resilience; Self evaluation; Hawaii; United States > US; immigration; self-rated oral health; oral health problems; resilience; Chinese Americans
• ISSN: 0164-0275; 1552-7573
• DOI: 10.1177/0164027520912493

Objectives: This study aims to examine the associations among immigrant status, resilience, and perceived oral health for Chinese American older adults in Hawaii. Method: Data derived from 430 Chinese American adults aged 55 years and older residing in Honolulu, HI. We compared the self-rated oral health and oral health problems between U.S.-born Chinese Americans and foreign-born Chinese Americans by using ordered logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression models. Results: Findings suggest that immigrant status and lower levels of resilience are associated with poorer self-rated oral health and more oral health problems for Chinese American older adults in Hawaii. Resilience is more strongly associated with self-rated oral health for U.S.-born Chinese American than for foreign-born Chinese Americans, but this pattern was not evident for oral health problems. Discussion: Older Chinese American immigrants in Hawaii are disadvantaged in terms of their oral health. Understanding their susceptibilities may lead to targeted interventions.