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Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 2/2011

Open Access 01-04-2011 | Original Paper

Interview Language: A Proxy Measure for Acculturation Among Asian Americans in a Population-Based Survey

Authors: Sunghee Lee, Hoang Anh Nguyen, Jennifer Tsui

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 2/2011

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Abstract

We examined health status and access to care among Asian Americans by the following acculturation indicators: nativity, percent lifetime in the US, self-rated English proficiency, and interview language, to assess whether any measure better distinguishes acculturation. Data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey were used to study the sample of 4,170 US-born and foreign-born Asians by acculturation indicators. We performed t-tests to compare differences in demographics, health status and behaviors, and access to care between the foreign-born and US-born Asians, and between various classifications within foreign-born and the US-born Asian group. Our results showed that foreign-born Asians who interviewed in English more closely resembled US-born Asians than foreign-born Asians who interviewed in languages other than English. Compared to interview language, dichotomizing the sample by other acculturation indicators showed smaller differences between the divided groups. Interview language may serve as a better measure for acculturation especially among foreign-born populations with a high proportion of limited English proficiency. In immigrant public health research studies, interview language may be used as an important covariate for health disparities.
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Metadata
Title
Interview Language: A Proxy Measure for Acculturation Among Asian Americans in a Population-Based Survey
Authors
Sunghee Lee
Hoang Anh Nguyen
Jennifer Tsui
Publication date
01-04-2011
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 2/2011
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-009-9278-z

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