Relationship between Employment Type and Self-Rated Health among Korean Immigrants in the US: Focusing on Gender and Number of Years in the US.

Sou Hyun Jang

doi:10.3390/ijerph18041654

Abstract

Although Korean immigrants report worse self-rated health and a higher self-employment rate than other Asian immigrant groups, the relationship between their employment type and self-rated health is understudied. This study examines the relationship between employment type and self-rated health among Korean immigrants in the US. Survey data of 421 first-generation working-age (18–64 years old) Korean immigrants in the New York–New Jersey area were analyzed. The self-administrated survey questionnaire included 39 items (e.g., sociodemographic characteristics, self-rated health, and health insurance status). A logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between the dependent variable—self-rated health (e.g., bad/not bad vs. good/very good)—and independent variable—employment type (e.g., work at non-ethnic firms, work at co-ethnic firms, self-employed, and unemployed)—by focusing on differences regarding gender and number of years living in the US. Self-employed and unemployed Korean immigrants were less likely to report good health compared to those working in non-ethnic firms. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, education, health insurance status, membership in any Koran association, religion, and English proficiency), the relationship between employment type and self-rated health remained significant among female and recent Korean immigrants. More worksite interventions by occupational health nurses that target self-employed Korean immigrants, especially women and recent immigrants, are necessary.

Highlights

Self-rated health is a subjective measure of an individual’s perception of their own health, whereas objective health status is based on the diagnosis by doctors or laboratory parameters [1]
Previous studies have found that self-rated health, which is consistent with the objective health status [1], is a valid measure [2] across different sociodemographic groups [3]
Since this study aims to examine the relationship between Korean immigrants’ employment type and self-rated health without considering changes in United States (US) society, the concept of assimilation is more suitable than acculturation for this study

Summary

Introduction

Self-rated health is a subjective measure of an individual’s perception of their own health, whereas objective health status is based on the diagnosis by doctors or laboratory parameters [1]. Prior studies have found that employees’ self-rated health differs depending on employment type, which can be categorized as follows: permanent vs non-permanent [9], precarious vs non-precarious [10], and self-employed vs employed [11,12]. Those in precarious [10] and nonstandard employment situations [13] tend not to report good health or greater health risks compared to those with full-time permanent employment.

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Conclusion