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Acculturation, Social Network, and Health-related Quality of Life in Korean-Chinese Immigrants

Article information

Res Community Public Health Nurs. 2013;24(4):438-450
Publication date (electronic) : 2013 December 31
doi : https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2013.24.4.438
Meenhye Lee1, Hyeonkyeong Lee2, Sue Kim2, Yeonsoo Jang2
1College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA.
2College of Nursing, Nursing Policy Research Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Corresponding author: Lee, Hyeonkyeong. College of Nursing, Nursing Policy Research Institute, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2228-3373, Fax: +82-2-392-5440, hlee39@yuhs.ac
Received 2013 September 29; Revised 2013 November 18; Accepted 2013 December 17.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify relationships between acculturation, social network, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Korean-Chinese immigrants.

Methods

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 147 Korean-Chinese immigrants who were residing more than 1 year in Korea. Physical and mental dimensions of HRQOL were assessed by Short Form-12 Health Survey that consisted of a physical component summary (PCS) and a mental component summary (MCS). Data were analyzed with Pearson's correlation and multiple regression.

Results

The mean PCS score was 41.14±10.72 and the mean MCS score was 49.09±11.31 (possible range 10-70). Depression (β=-6.43) and Social network frequency (β=2.44) explained 28.4% of the variance in PCS while depression (β=-11.54) and visiting clinic/hospital (β=-4.00) explained 34.3% of the variance in MCS. Acculturation was not significantly associated with HRQOL.

Conclusion

This study confirmed that the social network frequency influences HRQOL among Korean-Chinese Immigrants. The findings suggest that social network analysis should be considered in the process of developing health intervention strategies for Korean-Chinese immigrants.

Keywords: Immigrants; Acculturation; Social network; Quality of life

Notes

This article is a revision of the first author's master's thesis from Yonsei University.

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© 2013 Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Table 1

Sociodemographic Characteristics of the Participants (N=147)

Table 1

†Multiple response.

Table 2

Mean Scores for Acculturation, Social Network, and HRQOL (N=147)

Table 2

HRQOL=health related quality of life; PCS=physical component summary; MCS=mental component summary.

Table 3

Acculturation, Social Network, and HRQOL by General Characteristics (N=147)

Table 3

HRQOL=health-related quality of life; PCS=physical component summary; MCS=mental component summary.

†Scheffé test.

Table 4

Multiple Regression for Variables Predicting HRQOL (N=147)

Table 4

HRQOLhealth-related quality of life; PCS=physical component summary; MCS=mental component summary.

*p<05, **p<01.