Browsing by Subject "Immigrant health"
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Item Education gradients in health for Asian immigrant adults in the United States(2015-05) Wang, Ying-Ting; Hummer, Robert A.; Cubbin, Catherine; Hayward, Mark D; Powers, Daniel A; Yu, Wei-hsinThis dissertation examined the association between education and health among Asian immigrants in the United States. Despite being the second-largest immigrant population and the largest new immigrant group in the United States since 2009, Asian immigrants in the United States have received limited, although growing, attention in the literature on immigrants' health. Asian immigrants have a weaker education gradient in health in comparison to non-Hispanic whites, and this weak gradient raises questions on the role of education for Asian immigrants and, more broadly, on Asian immigrants' health. In this dissertation, I first documented the relationship between education and adult health for Asian immigrants and examined whether the education gradient in health for Asian immigrants' is weaker than that for U.S.-born whites. Second, I studied the underlying reasons for the modest education gradient in health for Asian immigrants. Using the National Health Interview Survey, the New Immigrant Survey, and the China Health and Nutrition Survey, I found that Asian immigrants do have a weaker education gradient in health than U.S.-born whites. This weaker gradient is mostly due to the fact that Asian immigrants with high education have worse health than their U.S.- born white counterparts, while Asian immigrants with low education are healthier than their U.S.-born white counterparts. Lower economic returns to education and a positive association between education and health behaviors can account for some health disadvantages for highly educated Asian immigrants. Also, some of the health advantage of less-educated Asian immigrants may be attributed to positive health selection among Asian immigrants. This dissertation provides a much-needed understanding of Asian immigrants' health and has implications for immigration policies and public health programs.Item Race/ethnic and nativity differentials in mid-life and late-life functioning in the United States(2015-05) Melvin, Jennifer Eileen; Hummer, Robert A.; Hayward, Mark A; Umberson, Debra; Angel, Jacqueline; Pudrovska, TetyanaAs the population structure of the United States continues to grow older and more diverse by race/ethnicity and nativity, the importance of understanding health differences in mid- and late-life becomes crucial for our society. Disability and functioning are strong and consistent predictors of independence and quality of life. In addition, because health is strongly associated with socioeconomic and social environmental factors, it is important to examine the extent to which the social environment at least partially explains race/ethnic and nativity differences in physical functioning and disability. Chapter 2 of this dissertation examines three measures of disability and functioning across 13 broad race/ethnic and nativity groups for adults aged 50 and above. I find that middle-aged foreign-born individuals in nearly every subgroup exhibit lower proportions of functional limitations and disability than U.S.-born whites. This pattern of immigrant advantage is generally reversed in later life and becomes a disadvantage. Moreover, most U.S.-born minority groups had significantly higher levels of disability and functional limitations than U.S.-born whites in both mid- and late life. This broad examination takes into account the demographic heterogeneity of the U.S. population and is especially timely given the rapid population aging that U.S. minority and immigration subpopulations are experiencing. In chapters 3 and 4 I use the National Health and Aging Trends Survey (NHATS) and examined race/ethnic and nativity differences in two new measures of disability: self -care and household activity limitation. I introduced a new conceptual framework of disability pathways, drew from an intersectionality approach and examined how socioeconomic status, social environmental factors, chronic health conditions, and physical capacity/functioning attenuate race/ethnic and nativity differences. My findings indicate that these key social environmental factors generally attenuate disparities, with the exception of foreign-born Hispanics. This sub-group continued to experience high rates of household and self-care limitations during their relatively long lives even net of these social environmental controls. I examine possible explanations for such striking health disadvantages. More research is needed to examine why this group has such high odds of debilitating disability, especially as they begin to enter later life in significantly large numbers.Item Rethinking the effect of duration on immigrant health : evidence from the National Health Interview Survey (2006-2008) and the New Immigrant Survey (2003)(2011-08) Li, Jing, 1977-; Hummer, Robert A.; Ross, Catherine E.; Angel, Ronald J.; Powers, Daniel A.; Kim, Su YeongPast studies often find that, upon arrival U.S. immigrants generally have favorable health profiles than native-born persons, but their health deteriorates with prolonged stay. The classical explanations of this phenomenon are healthy immigrant selection and negative acculturation. With the number of foreign-born people living in the United States reaching an all-time high, the health and financial costs of this “negative acculturation” is substantial. Meanwhile, the negative duration effect on health is contradictory to expectations from classic assimilation theory and what has been observed by labor economists. This study aims to empirically study the effect of duration on immigrant health, with particular attention given to how socioeconomic status differentiates the duration-health relationship. Results based on two national datasets confirmed that immigrants, especially recent arrivals, have a considerably lower risk of worse health relative to native-born adults. I also found that socioeconomic status plays an essential role in the varying level of initial health selectivity among immigrants. The analysis of the interaction effect between duration and SES reveals that duration effects on health vary significantly by socioeconomic status. High SES immigrants tend to experience a non-negative duration effect regardless of their length of U.S. residence, while immigrants with lower socioeconomic standing are more likely to experience a negative duration effect on health with longer duration. Moreover, this study also shows that the initial foreign-born advantages in health are typically larger for persons with low SES than for persons with high SES. However, little evidence suggests there is a health convergence between long-term immigrants and their native-born counterparts with similar socioeconomic status. Potential explanations and implications of these findings are also discussed.