Use of Traditional Chinese Medicine by older Chinese immigrants in Canada

BACKGROUND: Research is needed about the usage of complementary and alternative medicines within culturally diverse groups because of a growing number of people who use these remedies. OBJECTIVE: To understand the prevalence and predictors of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) use by older Chinese immigrants in Canada. METHODS: This is based on the data collected from a representative sample of 2167 elderly Chinese immigrants aged 55 years and above in seven Canadian cities. Logistic regression was used to estimate the probability of using TCM in combination with Western health services (WHS). Use of Chinese herbs, herbal formulas, and TCM practitioners (herbalists) was predicted, based upon the effects of predisposing, enabling and need factors. RESULTS: The response rate was 77%. Over two-thirds of the older Chinese immigrants reported using TCM in combination with WHS. About half (50.3%) of the older Chinese immigrants used Chinese herbs, 48.7% used Chinese herbal formulas, and 23.8% consulted a Chinese herbalist. Although separate analysis was conducted, similar predictors were identified. Country of origin, Chinese health beliefs, social support, city of residency, and health variables were the common predictors of using a form of TCM. CONCLUSION: The combined use of TCM and WHS is common among elderly Chinese immigrants. Culture-related variables are important in determining use of TCM. The predictors identified should help physicians to recognize who among the elderly Chinese immigrants are more likely to use TCM so that a more in-depth understanding toward their health practices and needs can be achieved.     

Predictors of health service barriers for older Chinese immigrants in Canada

Elderly people from ethnic minority groups often experience different barriers in accessing health services. Earlier studies on access usually focused on types and frequency but failed to address the predictors of service barriers.This study examined access barriers to health services faced by older Chinese immigrants in Canada. Factor analysis results indicated that service barriers were related to administrative problems in delivery, cultural incompatibility, personal attitudes, and circumstantial challenges. Stepwise multiple regression showed that predictors of barriers include female gender, being single, being an immigrant from Hong Kong, shorter length of residency in Canada, less adequate financial status, not having someone to trust and confide in, stronger identification with Chinese health beliefs, and not self-identified as Canadian. Social work interventions should strengthen support and resources for the vulnerable groups identified in the findings. Service providers should adjust service delivery to better serve elderly immigrants who still maintain strong Chinese cultural values and beliefs.     

Is family relations related to health service utilisation among older immigrants: Evidence from Chinese elderly in the United States

The family is the key for survival and success of the 4.6 million older immigrants in the United States. It is also an overlooked context to understand older immigrants’ health service utilisation. Most prior studies on this topic either focus on individual or institutional factors that affect how older immigrants use formal health services. Using data from 2011 Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (N = 3,159), this study examined potential linkages between family relationships and health service utilisation among US Chinese elderly. Negative binomial and logistic regressions were carried out to investigate whether health service use of these older immigrants are related to positive family relations, negative family relations, and health‐related communications among family members. The findings showed that positive spousal or family relations were not associated with either physician visits or hospital stays. However, respondents with more negative family relations had more doctor visits (β = 0.065, p < 0.05) and were marginally more likely to use inpatient services (OR = 1.15, CI: 0.88–1.04, p = 0.08). Respondents who talked to their spouse for medical concerns were less likely to use inpatient services (OR = 0.68, CI: 0.46–0.99, p < 0.05). The findings showed that family relations play a role in Chinese older immigrants’ health service use. In addition, family conflict seems to be more influential than close family relations in predicting service use. Practitioners need to thoroughly assess family dynamics to fully understand the resources and barriers for health service utilisation among the older immigrant populations.     

Support networks for Chinese older immigrants accessing English health and social care services: the concept of Bridge People

As Chinese immigrants in the United Kingdom age, they experience an increasing need to access health and care services. It has, however, been reported that older Chinese immigrants have difficulties in accessing these services. This study explored the experiences of this population in using health and care services and the strategies that they adopted to address their difficulties. A grounded theory method with a two‐staged research design was used. Stage 1 explored the participants’ experiences of ageing and use of health and social care services through focus group interviews. Stage 2 investigated the strategies individuals used to support access to and use of services through individual interviews. Forty‐four older Chinese people and 15 supporters participated in interviews during August 2011 and May 2013. These older Chinese immigrants were challenged in knowing about and in accessing services. Their difficulties were attributed to language barriers, lack of information and instrumental support, and emotional and cultural issues regarding use of health and care services. Their supporters facilitated access to services and acted as a bridge between the service and the user; therefore, they were given the title ‘Bridge People’. Bridge People have different backgrounds: family and friends, public sector workers and staff from community‐based Chinese organisations. The defining attributes of these supporters were: bilinguality, bicultural, multifunctionality and accessibility. There is no charge for this support; and the relationship between the Bridge Person and recipient involves trust and influence over decisions regarding use of health and care services. Bridge People should be recognised and identified by health, social care and housing services to promote engagement and use of services by older immigrant Chinese people.     

The impact of a decade of policy on home health care utilization

The Medicare home health care eligibility changes, which occurred during the 1980s, were designed to make home health care more accessible to older adults. Ideally, by the 1990s, older adults in need of home health care services should no longer have encountered barriers to accessing this benefit. Therefore, an individual's need for home health care services should have been the primary determinant of service utilization. This paper examined whether need was predictive of home health care use. Client-level data on the case mix of home health care agencies in San Francisco and Philadelphia, as well as agency administrator interview data, were analyzed to determine which characteristics were the best predictors of home health care use. The regression analyses results revealed that, although client characteristics were important predictors of the amount and type of home health care services received during an episode of care, client characteristics alone did not adequately predict the amount and type of home health care services received by older adults.     

The Impact of a Decade of Policy on Home Health Care Utilization

ABSTRACT

The Medicare home health care eligibility changes, which occurred during the 1980s, were designed to make home health care more accessible to older adults. Ideally, by the 1990s, older adults in need of home health care services should no longer have encountered barriers to accessing this benefit Therefore, an individual's need for home health care services should have been the primary determinant of service utilization. This paper examined whether need was predictive of home health care use. Client-level data on the case mix of home health care agencies in San Francisco and Philadelphia, as well as agency administrator interview data, were analyzed to determine which characteristics were the best predictors of home health care use. The regression analyses results revealed that, although client characteristics were important predictors of the amount and type of home health care services received during an episode of care, client characteristics alone did not adequately predict the amount and type of home health care services received by older adults.     

居家不出老年人居家养老服务需求影响因素分析

目的 探讨居家不出老年人居家养老服务需求的现状及其影响因素,为更好的开展居家养老服务和提高老年人的生活质量提供理论依据。方法 采取随机整群抽样方法在河北省唐山市路北区抽取2个社区860名≥60岁老年人进行居家不出状况筛查,对筛查出的居家不出老年人进行问卷调查。结果 860名老年人中共筛查出居家不出老年人149人,居家不出发生率为17.4%;对于养老服务的需求,有70.5%和77.2%的居家不出老年人选择日常生活照料养老服务和医疗保健养老服务,仅有11.4%的居家不出老年人选择精神慰藉养老服务;多因素非条件 logistic 回归分析结果显示,女性、患≥2种慢性病、不能自理是居家不出老年人日常生活照料养老服务需求的影响因素;患≥2种慢性病是居家不出老年人医疗保健养老服务需求的影响因素。结论 居家不出老年人更愿意选择日常生活照料和医疗保健养老服务;性别、患慢性病数量、自理能力是日常生活照料和医疗保健养老服务需求的影响因素。     

Healthcare Communication Barriers and Self-Rated Health in Older Chinese American Immigrants

Older Chinese immigrants are a growing population in the United States who experience multiple healthcare communication barriers such as limited English proficiency and low health literacy. Each of these obstacles has been associated with poor health outcomes but less is known about their effects in combination. This study examined the association between healthcare communication barriers and self-rated health among older Chinese immigrants. Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from 705 Chinese American immigrants ages 50–75 living in San Francisco, California. Communication barriers examined included spoken English proficiency, medical interpreter needs, and health literacy in written health information. The study sample (81 % females, mean age = 62) included 67 % who spoke English poorly or not at all, 34 % who reported needing a medical interpreter, and 37 % who reported “often” or “always” needing assistance to read health information. Two-thirds reported poor self-rated health; many reported having access to racial-concordant (74 %) and language-concordant (86 %) healthcare services. Both poor spoken English proficiency and low health literacy were associated with poor self-rated health, independent of other significant correlates (unemployment, chronic health conditions, and having a primary doctor who was ethnic Chinese). Results revealed that spoken English proficiency and print health literacy are independent communication barriers that are directly associated with health status among elderly Chinese American immigrants. Access to racial- or language-concordant health care services did not appear to resolve these barriers. These findings underscore the importance of addressing both spoken and written healthcare communication needs among older Chinese American immigrants.     

Factors associated with the amount of public home care received by elderly and intellectually disabled individuals in a large Norwegian municipality

This study reports an analysis of factors associated with home care use in a setting in which long‐term care services are provided within a publicly financed welfare system. We considered two groups of home care recipients: elderly individuals and intellectually disabled individuals. Routinely collected data on users of public home care in the municipality of Trondheim in October 2012, including 2493 people aged 67 years or older and 270 intellectually disabled people, were used. Multivariate regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between the time spent in direct contact with recipients by public healthcare personnel and perceived individual determinants of home care use (i.e. physical disability, cognitive impairment, diagnoses, age and gender, as well as socioeconomic characteristics). Physical disability and cognitive impairment are routinely registered for long‐term care users through a standardised instrument that is used in all Norwegian municipalities. Factor analysis was used to aggregate the individual items into composite variables that were included as need variables. Both physical disability and cognitive impairment were strong predictors of the amount of received care for both elderly and intellectually disabled individuals. Furthermore, we found a negative interaction effect between physical disability and cognitive impairment for elderly home care users. For elderly individuals, we also found significant positive associations between weekly hours of home care and having comorbidity, living alone, living in a service flat and having a safety alarm. The reduction in the amount of care for elderly individuals living with a cohabitant was substantially greater for males than for females. For intellectually disabled individuals, receiving services involuntarily due to severe behavioural problems was a strong predictor of the amount of care received. Our analysis showed that routinely collected data capture important predictors of home care use and thus facilitate both short‐term budgeting and long‐term planning of home care services.     

Between Two Worlds: The Use of Traditional and Western Health Services by Chinese Immigrants

This study examined the use of traditional and Western health services by Chinese immigrants, as well as the cultural and socioeconomic factors affecting health-seeking behaviors and health service utilization patterns among the study population from the perspectives of consumers and Chinese health care providers. Two instruments were used for data collection. The first, a consumer instrument, was designed for interviews of service recipients; the second, a health provider instrument, was designed to elicit information from traditional and Western providers. A few topics in the former instrument were cross-examined from the perspectives of health care providers. The investigation employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods for data collection. Qualitative ethnographic methods used included: (1) participant-observation, (2) face-to-face interview, and (3) case study. To complement the qualitative data, structured quantitative survey were conducted with all selected informants. A total of 105 informants participated in the study: 75 Chinese consumers and 30 Chinese health professionals. The latter group was composed of Western physicians and traditional practitioners. Results revealed several patterns of health-seeking and service utilization behaviors among the Chinese of Houston and Los Angeles. These included high rates of self-treatment and home remedies (balanced diets and other alternative medicines); medium rates of utilization of integrated Western and traditional health services, including travel to country of origin for care; and low rates of exclusive utilization of Western or traditional Chinese treatments.     

Health Behaviors of Older Chinese Adults Living in New York City

The dramatic increase in the number of older immigrants living in the U.S. presents new challenges to policy makers concerned with promoting healthy aging. To date, however, strikingly little is known regarding the health and health trajectories of older immigrants. This paper examines the prevalence and predictors of important health behaviors associated with chronic disease prevention, including current smoking status, physical activity, alcohol use, and body mass index (BMI). We analyzed data from the 2003 New York City Chinese Health Survey (NYC CHS), the largest probability-based sample of Chinese immigrants residing in two distinct communities. In-person interviews were conducted with 517 representative men and women aged 55-75. Logistic regression modeling was used to test the influence of demographic, socioeconomic status, acculturation, and health characteristics on selected health behaviors. Results revealed that having more education and better physical health status were associated with greater participation in physical activity. Gender-specific analyses indicated that the effect of selected predictors varied between the sexes. For example, among older Chinese women, acculturation was negatively associated with alcohol use. This study provides some of the first evidence on health behaviors of one of the fastest growing older immigrant groups in the U.S. Study results add to the emerging literature on the complex nature of immigrant health trajectories, and demonstrate that contrary to prior research, living a greater proportion of time in the U.S. can be associated with selected positive health behaviors. Further longitudinal studies are needed to help inform policy initiatives to encourage healthy aging among diverse older immigrant groups.     

Why home health services are provided to Alzheimer's disease patients in California's Alzheimer's disease program: an exploration

Logistic regression is used to examine why formal home health service recommendations are made to Alzheimer's disease patients (N = 822) by staff at each of six Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers (ADDTCs) in California. Patients are selected on the basis of their having Alzheimer's disease, and not having any physical co-morbid health problems noted at the time of their clinical assessment. Using Medicare Part A to pay for care, previous home health use, having regular access to and prior use of a primary care physician, prior hospitalization, client agitation and apathy, and family's social isolation were significant predictors of the latent propensity to recommend formal home health services to members of this sample.     

Reported health,lifestyles, and use of health care of first generation immigrants in The Netherlands: do socioeconomic factors explain their adverse position?

OBJECTIVE: Differences in health, lifestyles, and use of health care between groups of varying ethnic origin can have important implications for preventive and curative health care. This paper studies whether socioeconomic factors explain ethnic differences in these outcomes. DESIGN: Data on health status, lifestyles, and use of health care were obtained from interviews with 3296 people aged 16-64 years (response: 60.6%), among whom were 848 first generation immigrants. Ethnic differences in these outcomes were examined with and without adjustment for socioeconomic factors, using logistic regression. SETTING: General population of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Health status (self rated health, General Health Questionnaire, functional limitations), lifestyles (smoking, alcohol), and use of health care (general practice, pharmaceuticals, hospitalisations). MAIN RESULTS: Immigrants from Turkey, Morocco and (former) Dutch colonies report a poorer health and a higher use of health care, especially primary health care among the elderly. An adverse socioeconomic position partially explains the poor health of these immigrants. In turn, their poor health explains most of their higher use of health care. CONCLUSIONS: Cultural factors and poor living conditions seem to contribute to the poor health of immigrants, besides an adverse socioeconomic position. The pressure on various health services will increase in future because of the relatively high increase in immigrants' needs at older ages and their presently low mean age.

 

     

社区居家养老意愿下居住方式和子女支持对老年人基层卫生服务需求的影响

  目的  了解中国老年人基层卫生服务需求和医疗卫生机构就诊现状及其影响因素,为提高我国老年人基层医疗卫生服务利用提供参考依据。  方法  收集2018年中国老年社会追踪调查中9324名 ≥ 60岁老年人健康和相关服务板块数据分析我国老年人基层卫生服务需求和医疗卫生机构就诊情况,并应用多分类logistic回归模型和零膨胀负二项回归模型分析其影响因素。  结果  中国9324名 ≥ 60岁老年人中,有49.82 %的老年人有基层医疗卫生服务需求,有41.95 %的老年人选择生小病时去基层医疗卫生机构就诊。零膨胀负二项回归模型分析结果显示,非农业户口、领取养老金、日常活动能力较差和患慢性病的中国老年人基层医疗卫生服务需求较低,高中及以上文化程度、有社托养老意愿、养老意愿不确定、自评健康状况一般和健康的中国老年人基层医疗卫生服务需求较高;少数民族和领取养老金的中国老年人基层医疗卫生服务需求数目较少;非农业户口、高中及以上文化程度、有养老院养老意愿、养老意愿不确定、办理退休手续、日常活动能力较差、自评健康状况一般和健康的中国老年人基层医疗卫生服务需求数目较多。无序多分类logistic回归分析结果显示,未就诊与去基层医疗卫生机构就诊相比,年龄较大、少数民族和患慢性病的中国老年人更愿意选择去基层医疗卫生机构就诊,非农业户口、高中文化程度、日常活动能力较差、有社托养老和养老院养老意愿的中国老年人更愿意选择未就诊;到药店买药与去基层医疗卫生机构就诊相比,年龄较大、少数民族、个人年均收入较高、办理退休手续、日常活动能力较差、患慢性病和有基层医疗服务需求的中国老年人更愿意选择去基层医疗卫生机构就诊,非农业户口、初高中文化程度、自评健康状况一般和有社托养老意愿的中国老年人更愿意选择到药店买药;去专科/综合医院就诊与去基层医疗卫生机构就诊相比,有基层医疗服务需求的中国老年人更愿意选择去基层医疗卫生机构就诊,非农业户口、高中及以上文化程度、有社托养老意愿、领取养老金、办理退休手续和患慢性病的中国老年人更愿意选择去专科/综合医院就诊。  结论  中国老年人对基层卫生服务需求较低,生小病时选择到基层医疗卫生机构就诊者较少;户口类型、民族、文化程度、养老意愿、是否领取养老金、是否办理退休手续、日常活动能力、自评健康状况和是否患慢性病是老年人基层卫生服务需求和医疗卫生就诊的共同影响因素。     

上海市闽行区华坪社区重点人群基本卫生服务需求调查

目的，为了解社区重点人群的基本卫生服务需求，合理利用卫生资源，降低卫生费用，方法：采用整群随机抽样方法，调查60岁及以上的老年人2023人，分析老年人健康状况及健康行为等客观服务需求，再按随机数抽取410名老年，228名0－7岁儿童，利用问卷形式调查老年人及儿童（调查对象为儿童家长）对卫生服务的主观需求，结果：50．50％的老年人认为需要健康指导，上门诊疗、建立家庭病床，康复指导，心理咨询，定期体检等基本卫生服务，儿童卫生服务需求比例明显高于老年人，为95．18％，结论：对卫生服务的需求首先可能与人的卫生观念及对卫生服务的信任度有关，另一方面，提示社区卫生服务中心应不断提高自身的工作质量。     

Factors associated with non-use of inpatient hospital care service by elderly people in China

The objectives of this cross‐sectional study were to estimate non‐use of inpatient hospital care service by elderly people in China and to examine associations between service non‐use during the past 12 months and an array of predisposing, enabling and need factors. Using a fully structured questionnaire, trained health personnel interviewed 4046 Chinese aged 60 and older in Zhejiang province selected by a two‐stage stratified cluster sampling scheme between September and December 2007. Based on the Andersen behavioural model, hierarchical logistic regression analysis was used to explore the predictors of non‐use of this service. The rate of non‐use was 14.2%[95% confidence interval (CI), 13.1–15.3%] for inpatient hospital care service. Logistic regression analyses revealed that enabling factors were more important than either predisposing or need factors in predicting non‐use of inpatient hospital care service. Predisposing factors other than education were not significant, and only the need factor of number of diseases was significant for non‐use of inpatient hospital care service. The odds of non‐use for those with a college or higher degree were 0.36 times (95% CI, 0.21–0.62) the odds for those with primary or lower education. The odds of non‐use in the presence of 4–10 diseases and 1–3 diseases were 3.10 times (95% CI, 1.96–4.89) and 2.14 times (95% CI, 1.45–3.14), respectively, of those having no disease. Among the four enabling factors, only degree of living satisfaction score was not significantly associated with non‐use of inpatient hospital care service. For elderly persons with higher healthcare expenditure, joining new rural cooperative medical insurance or having low social support, the odds of reporting non‐use of inpatient hospital care services were raised by a factor of 1.6–8.0. Findings indicated that, in the absence of universal and comprehensive medical insurance coverage, enabling factors are more important than either predisposing or need factors in predicting non‐use.     

Does a small minority of elderly account for a majority of health care expenditures? A sixteen-year perspective

Canadian and American analysts commonly find that a small proportion of the elderly is responsible for a large share of health care expenditures. Data on a representative cohort in Manitoba indicate that the longer the time frame studied, the less health care usage concentrates in a single small group of elderly people. Over the sixteen-year period treated, the average older person's risks of using hospital and nursing home services is nevertheless notably higher than reported to date; yet, one-half of the elderly make relatively minimal demands on the health care system. The results reinforce calls for targeting the needs of intensive consumers of health care services and highlight the variability of cumulative usage patterns among older Manitobans.     

A Description of the Health Needs of Elderly Home Care Patients with Chronic Illness

Although trends in health care point to the increasing use of home health services in caring for the chronically ill elderly, little attention has been focused on assessing the specific services that these patients perceive as most needed. Twenty eight elderly patients with chronic illness who had been referred for home health agency service self reported their functional status using items from the Barthel Index. These patients also ranked their perceived need for 32 home health services derived from the literature on a four point Likert scale. The items which averaged more than "little need" were: heavy lifting, assessment of a health condition, having questions answered, coordination of services, physical or occupational therapy, help obtaining special equipment, help organizing the home, checking on the elder, collecting laboratory specimens, teaching about diet and nutrition, referrals to community groups, help coping with stress or fears and companionship. There was a significant negative relationship between functional status scores and perceived needs (p < .05). Patients with higher functional status scores perceived less need for services. This data indicates that functional status measures are good indicators of the degree of perceived need for home health services. Continued research in home care is imperative if effective services aimed at the multiple needs of the chronically ill aging population and their families are to be developed.     

Home health service utilization by Hispanic elderly immigrants: a longitudinal study

Based on a longitudinal study of Hispanic elderly immigrants, factors associated with use of home health services (HHS) were examined. Interviews were conducted in a community study of 156 Hispanic elderly immigrants in 1983 and again in 1988 with 76 survivors using the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) questionnaire. Predisposing and illness level factors were significantly related to the use of HHS, however, enabling factors were not significant. A discriminant analysis indicated that a set of variables (gender, age, physical health, mental health, ADL function and Self Assessed Health) accounted for 54% of the variance. The strongest discriminators in use of home health services were age, ADL function and Self Assessed Health.