Open AccessNeighborhood Ethnic Composition and Self-rated Health Among Chinese and Vietnamese American Immigrants
Author(s) -
Alice Guan,
Jin E. Kim-Mozeleski,
Priyanka Vyas,
Susan L. Stewart,
Ginny Gildengorin,
Nancy Burke,
Kris Pui Kwan,
Amber Pham,
Judy Y. Tan,
Qian Lü,
Stephen J. McPhee,
Janice Y. Tsoh
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of immigrant and minority health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.758
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1557-1920
pISSN - 1557-1912
DOI - 10.1007/s10903-020-01041-2
Subject(s) - vietnamese , ethnic group , self rated health , immigration , public health , demography , acculturation , gerontology , chinese americans , environmental health , geography , medicine , psychology , sociology , linguistics , nursing , archaeology , anthropology , philosophy
Immigrants tend to live in areas with higher co-ethnic density, and the effect of neighborhood ethnic composition could be particularly salient for health. This study explored associations between neighborhood ethnic composition and self-rated health among Asian immigrants. We analyzed data collected at baseline from 670 Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants enrolled in a lifestyle intervention trial. Residential addresses were geocoded and combined with neighborhood socio-demographic profiles based on census data. We used generalized estimating equations to examine neighborhood ethnic composition and self-rated health. Independent of individual-level factors, living in neighborhoods more densely populated by whites was associated with poor/fair self-rated health. Neighborhood household income and density of participants' own ethnic group were not associated with poor/fair self-rated health. More research is warranted to disentangle reasons why Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants living in white-concentrated neighborhoods reported poorer self-rated health, including investigating effects of discrimination, relative deprivation, and availability of social resources.