The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #63078

Simona Kwon, MPH¹, Nadia Islam¹, Navneet Kathuria, MD, MPH¹, Anu Gupta, MD², and Ruby Senie, PhD¹. (1) AANCART, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., 7th Fl., Room 732, Dept. of Epidemiology, New York City, NY 10032, 212-305-9079, sck32@columbia.edu, (2) Physician Scholars in International Health, Yale University Medical School, ES Harkness Hall, 367 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510

While the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community makes up 4% of the U.S. population, it accounts for 5% of the uninsured. Compared to other AAPI ethnic groups, Korean Americans (KA) have one of the highest uninsured rates which has been shown to be one of the major barriers to health care access. To date few studies have been conducted on the health needs of the KA population living in NYC. A community convenience sample of KAs living in NYC (N=272; KA females=174; KA males=98) were surveyed to explore health utilization patterns and the use of traditional medicines. 60% of the population was uninsured; 37% indicated their health was fair or worse. 20% have not had a routine checkup in more than 2 years, while 16% have never received a checkup. For traditional medicine use, 58% of the individuals indicated that they had used traditional medicines since moving to the U.S. By gender 64% of females and 49% of males reported using traditional medicines (p<.05). 69% of uninsured KAs reported using traditional medicines (p<.005). 83% of KAs who reported their health as poor compared to 41% who reported their health as excellent or good had used traditional medicines (p<.01). 66% of KAs who reported a time they were unable to see a health practitioner had used traditional medicines (p<.05). Thus, in our community sample of KAs, individuals who reported barriers to accessing conventional health care were more likely to have used traditional medicines since immigrating to the U.S.

Learning Objectives:

• List the health needs and health care utilization of a community sample of Korean Americans;
• Identify the factors that may influence traditional medicine use among a community sample of Korean Americans.

Keywords: Asian Americans, Alternative Medicine/Therapies

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.