Health service utilization among Asian Indians in greater Houston area

The health and wellbeing of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States is important for the development of individuals and communities in the country. South Asians are among the largest minority ethnic groups in the US and large-scale migrations of these populations have taken place over the years. Among South Asians, the Asian Indian (AI) population forms the major ethnic group. Current research on health service utilization among Asian Indians is very limited. Hence the purposes of this study are: ^ 1) To describe health service utilization in terms of access to routine care, satisfaction with quality of health care, preferences for alternative care and access barriers, in Asian Indians \u3e18 years residing in Greater Houston Area. 2) To identify what predisposing, enabling, need and immigrant related factors are associated with health service utilization using modified Andersen\u27s health service utilization model. ^ This dissertation used data generated from the South Asian Health Needs Assessment (SAHNA) study conducted by MD Anderson Cancer Center, in 2013. The SAHNA study assessed the health needs of AI residing in greater Houston area. The total sample size is 1588. The subjects aged 18 years and older, self-identified themselves as Asian Indian residing in the Greater Houston area. ^ Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to answer the research questions. The univariate and multivariate results indicate that all four major factors (predisposing, enabling, need and immigrant) have a strong influence on health service utilization. The study also shows that AIs in this study are less likely to live alone (6.3%), have college and higher education (94.3%), employed (79.18%), more likely to be foreign born (93.8%), live with family (83.4%) and have health insurance coverage (90.11%). ^ There have been limited studies that have examined Health service utilization and factors that affect health care use specifically for AI. The findings of this study may have important implications for research and for policy makers in developing culturally sensitive health services and intervention programs for Asian Indian communities.