Reports Outline Ethnicity and Health Study Results from Ohio State University (Trust In Physicians, Health Insurance, and Health Care Utilization Among Chinese Older Immigrants): Health and Medicine – Ethnicity and Health

2023 SEP 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators publish new report on Health and Medicine - Ethnicity and Health. According to news reporting originating in Columbus, Ohio, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Trust in physicians (TIP) plays a critical role in the health care utilization (HCU) of minority older adults and older immigrants. Although previous studies suggested that TIP was positively associated with primary care visits, negatively associated with Emergency Room (ER) visits and hospitalization among African Americans in the United States (U.S.), it is unclear whether and how TIP influences various types of HCU among Chinese older immigrants, a fast-growing group of minority older immigrants in the U.S.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Ohio State University, “Furthermore, despite the important role insurance plays in HCU and health disparities, few studies have tested whether TIP influences the HCU of the insured and uninsured Chinese older immigrants differently. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of TIP in three types of HCU (physician visits, ER visits, and hospitalization) among Chinese older immigrants and whether the associations differ by insurance status. The data were derived from the Population Study of ChINese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), N = 3,157. The sample is representative of Chinese older immigrants (60+ years) in Chicago. Guided by Andersen’s behavioral model, hierarchical regression analyses examined the role of TIP in physician visits, ER visits, and hospitalization among Chinese older immigrants. An interaction term was added to examine whether the aforementioned associations differed by insurance status. TIP was positively associated with the likelihood of physician visits (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.07, p< 0.001) but not with ER (OR = 1.02, p = 0.054) or hospitalization (OR = 1.01, p = 0.13). The results of the moderation analyses further showed that TIP was more positively associated with ER visits (OR=0.94, p=0.006) and hospitalization (OR = 0.93, p = 0.004) among the uninsured population, compared to those insured. TIP played an important role in facilitating primary care visits among Chinese older immigrants regardless of insurance status.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Additionally, TIP facilitated the ER visit and hospitalization among uninsured Chinese older immigrants.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Trust In Physicians, Health Insurance, and Health Care Utilization Among Chinese Older Immigrants. Ethnicity & Health, 2023;28(1):1-18. Ethnicity & Health can be contacted at: Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2-4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, Oxon, England.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Qiuchang (Katy) Cao, Ohio State University, College of Social Work, Columbus, OH 43210, United States. Additional authors for this research include Jessica L. Krok-Schoen, Man Guo and XinQi Dong.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2022.2027881. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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