Health Convergence or Disadvantage? A Re-Examination of Immigrant Health Disparity and its Mechanisms

• In Event: 4151 - International Migration Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 5: Health, Wellness, and Migration

Abstract

Abstract: A large body of research has focused on immigrants and their health differences compared to the native-born population in the U.S. However, inconsistencies and even conflicts occur in both theoretical predictions and empirical results. This paper summarizes the assumption, prediction, and the mechanism considered in each prevailing theory with a social determinant of health approach. Based on the medical-sociological framework, we sort out three levels of health determinants that each theory has considered for further examination. Then, we use the Wave 1 and Wave 2 data of UC Berkeley Social Network Study (UCNETS) with three overarching goals: document the immigrant health disparity over time, examine the systematic cohort differences and identify the mechanism producing such health inequality. The result shows that immigrants’ health is significantly worse than the native-born population for the old cohort but not for the young cohort, regardless of their years of residence. For the long-term immigrants in the old cohort, full SES assimilation and partial lifestyle integration are found, but they fail to explain immigrant’s health disadvantage. Mediation analysis illustrates that even if immigrants’ healthier lifestyle has already served as a buffer, their health deficiency remains significant. Compared to other health determinants, social network factors are the most salient and robust mediators predicting migrant’s health disadvantage. Therefore, this research provides empirical support for practical public health interventions that mainly focus on helping migrants establish better social networks and achieve authentic integration into the local community.
Keywords: immigrant, health inequality, cohort difference, assimilation, social determinants of health

Authors

• Zhixiang Su

• Leora Lawton, University of California-Berkeley