African Immigrant Health: The Health Promotion Beliefs of Zimbabwean Immigrants in the United States

Gona, Clara M.; Palan-Lopez, Ruth; Wood, Lisa J.; Gotora, Rosalia S; Gona, Philimon

doi:10.1007/s10903-021-01318-0

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 30 publications

(30 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Others who arrive for individual business trade will not be able to access the health insurance system. As a marginalised group, these African immigrants are not able to articulate their concerns (Gona et al, 2022; Venters & Gany, 2011). Therefore, by providing empirical evidence and statistical analyses relating to the mental and physical health of a large cohort of African immigrants in Guangzhou, China, we assess whether health insurance participation can improve the health outcomes of African immigrants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does health insurance participation matter in shaping African immigrants' physical health in Guangzhou, China? The role of mental health

Du,

Zhang

2024

Population Space and Place

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

China is a burgeoning immigrant‐receiving country, and policies on immigration are just beginning to be developed. While African immigration to China was uncommon 30 years ago, China has gradually become a major destination for African immigrants due to its robust economy, welcoming universities, and low cost of living. Currently, there are increasing numbers of African students and professionals who are migrating to China to study or work. The health status of African migrants in China shapes their wellbeing, which plays a key role in strengthening long‐term cooperative relations between China and African countries. Although previous literature has examined the socioeconomic status of these African immigrants, the role of health insurance participation in shaping the health status of African immigrants remains obscure in China. Using data from the 2019 questionnaire‐survey in Guangzhou, China, this paper investigates the underlying mechanism driving African immigrants' health insurance participation as critical to their physical and mental health. Our results demonstrate that health insurance participation is a pivotal factor in the overall health of African immigrants; specifically, purchasing health insurance and one's mental and physical health can be characterised as a feedback loop. Purchasing health insurance can positively impact mental health, and consequently, better mental health can improve physical health. Good physical health also tends to bolster mental health. Therefore, policies aimed at improving African immigrants' mental and physical health are expected to encourage them to purchase health insurance above their present low level of insurance participation. The proposal here is that health policymaking for immigrants should include the interaction mechanism between physical and mental health rather than focus only on physical health conditions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does health insurance participation matter in shaping African immigrants' physical health in Guangzhou, China? The role of mental health

Du,

Zhang

2024

Population Space and Place

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Conducting Community-Based Research in An African Immigrant Population: Lessons Learned

Gona,

Kieran,

Durning

et al. 2024

Ethnicity &Amp; Disease

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Although small, the African immigrant population is one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in the United States. Emerging research indicates a high prevalence of noncommunicable preventable chronic conditions in this population. Like other African Americans, African immigrants are mistrustful of the health care system, hampering efforts for prevention and intervention research. Purpose To describe our experiences conducting 2 studies in an African immigrant community, discuss the lessons learned, and provide advice to researchers interested in conducting research in similar populations. Design The 2 published studies for which we derive lessons learned for this paper were a cross-sectional study and a qualitative study using focus group interviews. Participants included Zimbabwean immigrants in the Eastern United States recruited at religious festivals and community events. The 2 studies enrolled a total of 135 participants. Results Of our recruitment goal of 120 in the first study, we enrolled only 98 despite numerous efforts. However, after strategically partnering with a community advisory board (CAB), in the second study, we met our recruitment goal within 4 months. With the CAB, we recruited a larger proportion of men (38% versus 24%). Without the CAB, 350 individuals agreed to participate, but only 98 (28%) returned the questionnaire, whereas with the CAB, 40 agreed to participate, and 37 (93%) successfully completed the study. Conclusion Conducting health-related research in immigrants requires strategic partnerships with the community to build strong relationships between the research team and the target community. By nurturing these relationships, research teams can effectively access this hard-to-reach population and achieve high participation.

show abstract

African Immigrant Health: The Health Promotion Beliefs of Zimbabwean Immigrants in the United States

Cited by 2 publications

References 30 publications

Does health insurance participation matter in shaping African immigrants' physical health in Guangzhou, China? The role of mental health

Does health insurance participation matter in shaping African immigrants' physical health in Guangzhou, China? The role of mental health

Conducting Community-Based Research in An African Immigrant Population: Lessons Learned

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About