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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Nadia Islam, Simona Kwon, MPH, Navneet Kathuria, MD, MPH, Ruby Senie, PhD, Anu Gupta, MD, and Naseem Zojwalla, MD. AANCART, Columbia University, 622 W. 168th St., PH 18-201G, New York City, NY 10019, 212-305-9079, nsi3@columbia.edu
Problem: The South Asian-American (SA) community has recently experienced tremendous growth. New SA immigrants have different socioeconomic (SE) characteristics than their predecessors, and face significant barriers in accessing health care. Purpose: To gather descriptive data concerning SE factors and access to care issues of the SA community face. Methodology: Face to face surveys were conducted in Bangla, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, and English at SA community events by trained interviewers; and by telephone via random digit dialing using a list of common South Asian surnames. Results: 327 surveys were administered (230 males, 97 females). The average age of respondent was 42 years. Average number of years in the U.S. was 12 years. The majority of individuals were from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh (48%, 23%, and 16%, respectively). 73% of the respondents were married; 80% of individuals had full-time jobs. Almost 40% of the sample was high school-educated or less. Barriers to accessing health care included lack of insurance, with more than 63% of the sample uninsured. Almost 30% of the sample spoke English "so-so" or worse, and 77% saw a doctor who spoke their own language. Although 52% of respondents had a check-up in the last year, almost 40% did not have a regular source of care. The top three sources for health care included private doctors, ERs, and hospitals. Conclusion: South Asian immigrants face considerable barriers in accessing health care. Community advocates and policy makers need to take SE factors into account when developing health programs for this community.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to
Keywords: Access to Health Care, Asian Americans
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.