Time Since Immigration and Health Services Utilization of Korean-American Older Adults Living in Los Angeles County

• Published in: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) Vol. 52; no. 11; pp. 1946 - 1950
• Main Authors: Sohn, Linda, Harada, Nancy D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Inc 01.11.2004; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Elderly people; Emigration and Immigration; Female; General aspects; Geriatrics; Health services; Health Services for the Aged - utilization; Health Services Needs and Demand; Health services utilization; Health Status; healthcare utilization; Humans; Immigrants; Korea - ethnology; Korean American; Korean American people; Linear Models; Los Angeles; Los Angeles County; Male; Medical sciences; minority; Minority & ethnic groups; older persons; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time Factors; USA; Users; Asia; United States; North America; America; Korea; Los Angeles; Los Angeles County California; Human; Gerontology; American; Immigrant; Loss; Immigration; Health service; Time; Elderly; Public health; Geographical variation; Geriatrics
• ISSN: 0002-8614; 1532-5415
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52524.x

The aim of this study was to characterize ambulatory healthcare utilization of older Korean Americans and its association with length of time since immigration. It was hypothesized that older Korean Americans who were recent immigrants would use outpatient physician visits less often than early immigrants. The data are from the 2000 Korean‐American Health Survey, which assessed the health status and medical needs of Korean Americans living in Los Angeles County. The dependent variable was the number of visits to a physician for check‐up or consultation. Multivariate regression modeling was used to assess the influence of length of time since immigration on the dependent variable controlling for predisposing, enabling, and need variables for a sample of 208 Koreans Americans aged 65 and older. Results indicated that high school education in Korea and health insurance status were significant predictors of number of visits to a physician during the previous year (P<.05). The main variable of interest, the number of years living in the United States, approached significance at P=.09. It was concluded that enabling variables such as education and health insurance significantly influenced use of healthcare services in the older Korean‐American population. The lack of studies regarding older minority populations and their access to healthcare further highlight theneed not only to characterize the access of these often‐vulnerable populations, but also to generate interest for further studies.