Asian American Women’s Experiences of Health Care Inaccessibility and Associated Health Outcomes: A Mixed-Methods Study

Objectives: Asian American women face significant barriers to health care access, including socioeconomic, insurance, and language difficulties. The current study aimed to examine Asian American women’s experiences of health care inaccessibility and associated health outcomes. Design:The study used aggregated data from 17 assessment waves (2011-2020) conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to examine experiences of health care access in 1,626 Asian American women. Logistic regression models were used to test the associations between experiences of health care inaccessibility and health outcomes. Inductive thematic analysis was used to categorize participants’ perceptions of access barriers and impacts. Results: Findings showed high prevalence of health care inaccessibility due to economic and linguistic factors, as exemplified by problems paying for medical bills (31.2%), skipped medical test (32.2%), and language barriers (43.5%). Quantitative results showed that experiences of health care inaccessibility were associated with two-to-four-fold increases in odds of health problems (i.e., chronic physical condition, depression, functioning impairments), even after controlling for demographic factors. Qualitative results revealed additional barriers to health care, such as transportation and scheduling issues, and perceived effects of inaccessibility such as financial burden, uncertainty over recovery, and distrust in medical systems. Conclusion: Findings have important implications for informing health care policies to improve access for Asian American women. Medical institutions may alleviate health care barriers by implementing culturally sensitive initiatives such as language assistance programs, insurance navigation services, and media education programs. Keywords: Asian American women, healthcare access barriers, health disparities, mixed-methods research