Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Applied Demography and Public Health in the 21st Century pp 163–182Cite as

Healthcare Utilization as a Source of Health Disparities Among U.S. Male Immigrants

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 605 Accesses

Part of the book series: Applied Demography Series ((ADS,volume 8))

Abstract

Healthcare utilization has important implications for immigrant health, yet remains under-conceptualized, particularly as it relates to men’s health. This chapter uses nationally-representative data from the 2003 New Immigrant Survey (NIS) to compare utilization behaviors and health outcomes among male immigrants (n = 3901), focusing on those from Mexico , India, and China. We find that Indian males are more likely than their Mexican and Chinese counterparts to interact with the healthcare system and to report good health, findings largely explained by their privileged social position and access to care. Mexican and Chinese males are hindered by their lack of English language proficiency and are more likely to rate their health as poor. In contrast to the results for self-rated health, we find no significant difference in the likelihood of being diagnosed with a medical condition across national-origin groups. These similarities and differences have research and policy implications, which we discuss in the conclusion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akresh, I. R. (2007). Dietary assimilation and health among Hispanic immigrants to the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 48, 404–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akresh, I. R. (2008). Overweight and obesity among foreign-born and US-born Hispanics. Biodemography and Social Biology, 54, 183–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akresh, I. R., & Frank, R. (2008). Health selection among new immigrants. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antecol, H., & Bedard, K. (2006). Unhealthy assimilation: Why do immigrants converge to American health status levels? Demography, 43, 337–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barringer, H., & Kassebaum, G. (1989). Asian Indians as a minority in the United States: The effect of education, occupations, and gender on income. Sociological Perspectives, 32, 501–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, S. R., Shafer, S., Donato, K. M., & Garip, F. (2006). Mapping gender and migration in sociological scholarship: Is it segregation or integration? International Migration Review, 40, 199–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feliciano, C. (2006). Unequal origins: Immigrant selection and the education of the second generation. New York: LFC Scholarly Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finch, B. K., Hummer, R. A., Reindl, M., & Vega, W. A. (2002). The validity of self-rated health among Latino(a)s. American Journal of Epidemiology, 8, 755–759.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorman, B., Read, J. G., & Krueger, P. (2010). Gender, acculturation and health among Mexican American immigrants. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 8, 755–759.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grieco, E., & Ray, B. (2004). Mexican immigrants in the U.S. labor force. Washington, D.C.: Migration Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hao, L. (2007). Color lines, country lines: Race, immigration, and wealth stratification in America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hummer, R. A., Biegler, M., DeTurk, P. B., Douglas Forbes, W., Frisbie, P., Hong, Y., et al. (1999). Race/ethnicity, nativity, and infant mortality in the United States. Social Forces, 77, 1083–1118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, G., Worley, C. B., Allen, R. S., Vinson, L., Crowther, M. R., Parmelee, P., et al. (2011). Vulnerability of older Latino and Asian immigrant with limited English proficiency. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 59, 1246–1252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lan, S. (2012). Diaspora and class consciousness: Chinese immigrant workers in multiracial Chicago. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, L. A., & Waite, L. J. (1995). ‘Til death do us part’: Marital disruption and mortality. American Journal of Sociology, 100, 1131–1156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marmot, M. G., & Leonard Syme, S. (1976). Acculturation and coronary heart disease in Japanese-Americans. American Journal of Epidemiology, 104, 225–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. (2010). Immigration statistics for the twenty-first century. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 631, 124–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, K. (2012). Chinese immigrants in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Migration Information Source.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brian, R., Hunt, K., & Hart, G. (2005). ‘It’s caveman stuff, but that is to a certain extent how guys still operate’: Men’s accounts of masculinity and help seeking. Social Science and Medicine, 61, 503–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palloni, A., & Arias, E. (2004). Paradox lost: Explaining the Hispanic adult mortality advantage. Demography, 41, 385–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parrado, E. A., & Flippen, C. A. (2005). Migration and gender among Mexican women. American Sociological Review, 70, 606–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center. (2012). The rise of Asian Americans. In Pew Research Center (Ed.), Social & demographic trends.

    Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. G., & Cohen, P. N. (2007). One size fits all? Explaining U.S.-born and Immigrant women’s employment across twelve ethnic groups. Social Forces, 85, 1713–1734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. G., & Emerson, M. O. (2005). Racial context of origin, black immigration, and U.S. Black/White health disparity. Social Forces, 84, 183–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. G., & Gorman, B. (2006). Gender inequalities in U.S. adult health: The interplay of race and ethnicity. Social Science and Medicine, 62, 1045–1065.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. G., & Gorman, B. (2010). Gender and U.S. health inequality. Annual Review of Sociology 36, (371–386).

    Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. G., & Oselin, S. (2008). Gender and the education-employment paradox in ethnic and religious contexts: The case of Arab Americans. American Sociological Review, 73, 296–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. G., & Reynolds, M. M. (2012). Gender differences in immigrant health: The case of Mexican and middle eastern immigrants. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 53, 99–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, R. G., Hummer, R. A., & Nam, C. B. (2000). Living and dying in the USA: Behavioral, health, and social differentials of adult mortality. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiller, J. S., Lucas, J. W., & Peregoy, A. (2011). Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey. In Vital health stat. National Center for Health Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, G. K., & Hiatt, R. (2006). Trends and disparities in socioeconomic and behavioural characteristics, life expectancy, and cause-specific mortality of native-born and foreign-born populations in the United States. International Journal of Epidemiology, 35, 903–919.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoney, S., & Batalova, J. (2013). Mexican immigrants in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Migration Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Treas, J. (2008). Transnational older adults and their families. Family Relations, 57, 468–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters, N. P., & Trevelyan, E. N. (2011). The newly arrived foreign-born population of the United States: 2010. In American Community Survey Briefs. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whatley, M., & Batalova, J. (2012). Indian immigrants in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Migration Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, M. (2009). Contemporary Chinese America: Immigration, ethnicity, and community transformation. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Jen’nan Ghazal Read & E. Paige Borelli

Authors
  1. Jen’nan Ghazal Read
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. E. Paige Borelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jen’nan Ghazal Read .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hobby Center for Public Policy, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    M. Nazrul Hoque

  2. Institute for Demographic and and Socioeconomic Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, USA

    Beverly Pecotte

  3. Health Statistics Branch, Center for Public Health Practice, Arkansas Department of Health, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

    Mary A. McGehee

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Read, J.G., Borelli, E.P. (2017). Healthcare Utilization as a Source of Health Disparities Among U.S. Male Immigrants. In: Hoque, M., Pecotte, B., McGehee, M. (eds) Applied Demography and Public Health in the 21st Century. Applied Demography Series, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43688-3_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43688-3_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43686-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-43688-3

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation