Chinese Immigrant Population Research Articles

Insights into Chinese Canadian culture: enablers and barriers for fruit and vegetable intake.

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) play a vital role in promoting health and preventing diseases. Numerous studies have demonstrated the association between F&V consumption and reduced risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality. Despite the high priority of public health in promoting F&V intake, Chinese immigrants in Canada often fall below national guidelines in their consumption. Understanding the factors influencing F&V intake in this community is crucial for developing effective interventions. This study used an applied ethnographic research approach to gain insight into the enablers and barriers that influence F&V intake among Chinese-Canadian adults in Richmond, BC. Semi-structured interviews and 'photovoice' group sessions were conducted to gather qualitative data from community participants and health care providers (HCPs). The research identified four key themes: (1) Cultural differences around how vegetables are perceived, consumed and prepared; (2) Motivators and strategies for increasing vegetable and fruit intake; (3) Lack of culturally relevant dietary education and resources; and (4) Importance of value in vegetable/fruit-related decisions. Participants showed a strong preference for the traditional Eastern diet, with cost of food and lack of knowledge about Western vegetables acting as barriers to dietary diversity. The study also highlighted the need for culturally tailored educational resources to effectively promote F&V consumption. By adopting a multi-modal approach, incorporating both interviews and 'photovoice' sessions, this research provided comprehensive insights into the participants' perspectives and experiences related to F&V intake. Understanding these factors can guide the development of culturally appropriate interventions to increase F&V consumption among Chinese-Canadian adults in Richmond, BC, and potentially improve their overall health and well-being. Future studies should consider the heterogeneity within the Chinese immigrant population and target a more balanced representation of age groups to further enhance our understanding of F&V intake patterns in this community.

Equity in the Access of Chinese Immigrants to Healthcare Services in Portugal.

International studies indicate that Chinese immigrants face barriers when trying to access healthcare in the host country. The aim of this study was to identify the barriers that Chinese immigrants face when accessing the Portuguese National Health Service. An observational, cross-sectional and quantitative study was carried out via a bilingual Portuguese/Mandarin self-completed paper questionnaire was applied. The study population consisted of individuals with Chinese nationality who were residing in mainland Portugal for at least one year and aged 18 years or over. A total of 304 individuals answered the questionnaire. The results show that 284 (93.4%) of the participants had already sought healthcare in Portugal. The participants identified language difficulties and health professionals' lack of knowledge of Chinese cultural habits as the most significant barriers to accessing healthcare in Portugal. Of a total of 165 participants who sought healthcare in China, confidence in treatment outcomes and health professionals' knowledge of Chinese cultural habits were the reasons given by 151 (91.5%) individuals. This study reveals the existence of linguistic and cultural barriers that can condition the access of the Chinese immigrant population to healthcare systems. Immigrants' access to healthcare can be promoted via policies that contribute to proficiency in the Portuguese language and medical literacy among the Chinese immigrant population. It can also be promoted by raising the awareness of health professionals to Chinese cultural habits.

Understanding the experiences and needs in autism education: A semi-structured interview among Chinese American parents of autistic children.

The diversity of the autistic population seeking professional services and education in the United States has increased. As the diagnosis of autism increases among the Chinese American immigrant population, there is also an increasing need to learn about this population and provide appropriate intervention and education for this group. However, current education and intervention provided for autistic individuals tend to be culturally blind. Gaps were found in our understanding of the cultural context and its relationship with the education mechanisms among Chinese American autistic families. The current study intends to investigate how Chinese American parents perceive the education materials and intervention strategies received by their autistic children as well as their experiences and needs in the education process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 10 Chinese American parents (one father and nine mothers) online. They all had children who had a formal diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and received some intervention or education. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the results. The study suggested that most Chinese American parents were satisfied with the current education materials and intervention strategies provided to their autistic children. Due to cultural-related stigma, parents differ in their perceptions of children's autism diagnosis and characteristics as well as their expectations of children's culturally sensitive education. A theoretical model was created to provide culture-centered interpretation of the interconnected relationship between their pre- and post-immigration contexts and parenting attitudes. Culture plays a critical role in understanding Chinese American parents' experiences, needs, and expectations of culturally sensitive education for their autistic children. Interconnected relationships were found between contexts and parenting attitudes, which were largely influenced by cultural-related stigma. Suggestions and implications were provided for institutions and professionals working with Chinese American families and children. It is critical for them to learn about the experiences, needs, and attitudes of Chinese American parents to provide Chinese American autistic children with more appropriate and culturally sensitive education.

Neighborhood segregation, socioeconomic status, and cognitive function among older Chinese immigrants.

The fast-growing population of older Chinese immigrants and their segregated residences highlight the importance of understanding the role of neighborhood context in cognitive health. The segregation-cognition association is equivocal based on a limited number of studies among Hispanic and Asian Americans. To close the knowledge gap, this study examined the associations of neighborhood segregation and socioeconomic status (NSES) with cognitive functioning among older Chinese immigrants. Four waves of cognitive performance tests were conducted in the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (2011-2019) and linked to the 2010 to 2014 American Community Survey estimates of neighborhood contexts. NSES was a summary z-score of six census variables of education, income/wealth, and occupation. Neighborhood segregation was measured by the Index of Concentrations at the Extremes (ICE), which simultaneously assesses Chinese and English language use within a given census tract. There were 170 census tracts in the present sample of 2044 participants. Latent growth curve models with adjusted cluster robust standard errors were estimated. On average, cognitive functioning declined over time (B=-0.07, p < 0.001). After adjusting for individual-level predictors, living in high-NSES neighborhoods was associated with slower cognitive decline (B=0.003, p=0.04). ICE was not associated with cognitive functioning, but boosted the protective effect of high NSES on cognitive decline (B=0.006, p=0.05). Neighborhood socioeconomic advantage was related to slower cognitive decline among older Chinese immigrants, especially among those living in neighborhoods with more English speakers or less segregation. This finding suggests complex associations between neighborhood context and cognitive health among Chinese immigrants.

A Social Media-Based Diabetes Intervention for Low-Income Mandarin-Speaking Chinese Immigrants in the United States: Feasibility Study.

BackgroundChinese immigrants bear a high diabetes burden and face significant barriers to accessing diabetes self-management education (DSME) and counseling programs.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability and to pilot test the potential efficacy of a social media–based DSME intervention among low-income Chinese immigrants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in New York City.MethodsThis was a single group pretest and posttest study in 30 Chinese immigrants with T2D. The intervention included 24 culturally and linguistically tailored DSME videos, focusing on diabetes education and behavioral counseling techniques. Over 12 weeks, participants received 2 brief videos each week via WeChat, a free social media app popular among Chinese immigrants. Primary outcomes included the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Feasibility was evaluated by recruitment processes, retention rates, and the video watch rate. Acceptability was assessed via a satisfaction survey at 3 months. Secondary outcomes, that is, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), self-efficacy, dietary intake, and physical activity, were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Descriptive statistics and paired 2-sided t tests were used to summarize the baseline characteristics and changes before and after the intervention.ResultsThe sample population (N=30) consisted of mostly females (21/30, 70%) who were married (19/30, 63%), with limited English proficiency (30/30, 100%), and the mean age was 61 (SD 7) years. Most reported an annual household income of <US $25,000 (24/30, 80%) and a high school education or less (19/30, 63%). Thirty participants were recruited within 2 months (January and February 2020), and 97% (29/30) of the participants were retained at 6 months. A video watch rate of 92% (28/30) was achieved. The mean baseline HbA1c level was 7.3% (SD 1.3%), and this level declined by 0.5% (95% CI –0.8% to –0.2%; P=.003) at 6 months. The mean satisfaction score was 9.9 (SD 0.6) out of 10, indicating a high level of satisfaction with the program. All strongly agreed or agreed that they preferred this video-based DSME over face-to-face visits. Compared to baseline, there were significant improvements in self-efficacy, dietary, and physical activity behaviors at 6 months.ConclusionsThis pilot study demonstrated that a social media–based DSME intervention is feasible, acceptable, and potentially efficacious in a low-income Chinese immigrant population with T2D. Future studies need to examine the efficacy in an adequately powered clinical trial.

Review: West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire, by Kevin Waite

The past decade has seen a major shift in the historiography of slavery. Thoroughly demolishing a century of Lost Cause revisionism, recent works by Walter Johnson, Edward Baptist, Sven Beckert and others have argued that southern slavery in the nineteenth century was no relic of a pre-modern age and was instead inextricably linked to the emerging global capitalist order. Southern elites are recast from reactionary states’ rights zealots to savvy nationalists tilting U.S. federal policy to their economic advantage. In his first book, Kevin Waite adds to this literature by shifting focus to the Far West, arguing for the existence of an expansionist continental South dedicated to international trade and maintaining various forms of unfree labor. Waite contends that the sway of pro-slavery politics extended to the Pacific coast, challenging the notion that the American West was somehow united against slavery.Waite breaks from earlier historians by urging readers to look beyond Bleeding Kansas for explanations on how westward expansion contributed to sectional dissolution. Instead, he adds a new region, the Desert South, to the historical framework of “many Souths.” Comprising Southern California, New Mexico, and Utah, the Desert South was a site where southern support for chattel slavery merged with local desires to preserve other forms of race-based coerced labor, including captive Native labor and lifelong debt peonage. Waite insists that southern lawmakers’ push for federal transportation projects (designed to link the South with Asian markets) merged with pro-slavery separatist movements in the West to hasten the arrival of the Civil War. Despite vain attempts to secure a southern railroad route and the political blunder of southern secession, the collaboration between southern and western politicians later achieved a remarkable postbellum revival.Waite’s scope is unusually ambitious for a debut. He begins by demonstrating how antebellum southern politicians utilized their influence within the federal government and exploited patronage networks in the favor of the planter class. Section two shifts focus to the West, examining local office holders who adapted pro-slavery politics to their own regional contexts. For instance, California Democrats sought to overturn the state’s free-soil constitution, New Mexico legislators passed an 1859 slave code, and Utah legalized slavery in 1852. Section three posits the Desert South as a theater of the Civil War where various separatist plots stoked a popular backlash, leading to the rise of the once floundering Republican Party in the West. The section ends with western Democrats’ postwar comeback, as white solidarity against the region’s diverse population of Natives, Chinese Immigrants, African Americans, and Hispanos—combined with antipathy towards an expanding federal government—helped fueled the demise of Reconstruction on a national level.Waite is a writer of unusual clarity, and his book is an accessible contribution to the new slavery historiography as well as the growing literature addressing linkages between free and unfree labor systems in the West. None of the information he provides is necessarily new, but he consistently reads his source material in fresh ways. Similarly, elements of his argument will be familiar to readers of earlier works by such historians as Richard White and David M. Potter, but no writer has so forcefully elucidated why the slave South cast such a long shadow in the Far West.

The central role of social support in the health of Chinese and Korean American immigrants

Prior research contends that social support positively influences health by optimizing individuals’ psychological processes such as appraisals, emotions, and sense of control—known as stress-buffering effects. This study tests this theoretical concept by examining whether the association between social support and health can be explained by the psychological processes of perceived stress and distress among Chinese and Korean American immigrants. Furthermore, we examine what predicts social support in this population, with a particular focus on factors related to immigration. Using a total sample of 400 Chinese and Korean American immigrants, we examine the association between social support and self-rated health (SRH), accounting for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, perceived stress, and perceived distress using multivariable logistic regression models. We conducted a mediation analysis using the Karlson, Holm, and Breen (KHB) method to determine whether perceived stress and distress partly explained the association between social support and SRH. Findings showed a strong total effect of higher social support on better SRH. Furthermore, mediation was detected, with perceived stress and distress explaining 42.98% of the total effect of social support on SRH. Multivariable linear regression models revealed that social support among Chinese and Korean American immigrants was associated with marital status, employment, ethnic identity, and acculturative stress. This study highlights the centrality of social support for Chinese and Korean American immigrants, which lowers perceived stress and distress, leading to better overall health. By confirming these stress-buffering effects, our findings suggest that bolstering social support among vulnerable Chinese and Korean American immigrant populations can have a positive effect on health by optimizing stress appraisals.

Perception of Health and Well-being Among the Chinese Immigrant Population in Seville (Spain): Does Territorial Concentration Matter?

This study analyzes the relationship between the territorial concentration of the Chinese immigrant population and their perception of health and well-being in Seville, a city in southern Europe, where this ethnic community has seen one of the fastest growth rates in recent times. An ethnographic design and a merging strategy by data transformation were adopted. The results show that there is a greater perception of good health and well-being among the Chinese population, who live mainly in neighborhoods with a high concentration of Chinese immigrants with a high socioeconomic status. However, this territorial concentration does not result in a lower perception of integration, affection or support from the host society. This apparent contradiction could be explained by the importance of relations with their fellow nationals at work as a key element in the socialization of the Chinese population.

Culturally attuned engagement: a qualitative analysis of social service providers in community based organizations serving Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian immigrant populations

ABSTRACT Evidence remains limited on culturally competent practices that enhance the engagement of Asian American immigrants in mental health services. This study examines engagement practices by social service providers in community-based organizations, using secondary qualitative data from six provider focus groups (N = 47) and five Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian immigrant client focus groups (N = 36). Thematic analysis revealed that culturally attuned engagement involved provider (a) practice wisdom and (b) practice behaviors calibrated to the unique illness experiences of individual clients. The findings illuminate how cultural competent practice manifests in real-world contexts where providers encounter culturally anchored yet uniquely individualized illness experiences of Asian American immigrants.

Incorporating Emic Perspectives in Defining Social Competence: Validation of Parental Assessment of Peer Play Interactions at Home for Low-Income Chinese-Heritage Children

Despite the rapid growth of the Chinese immigrant population in the United States, little is known about the social behaviors of Chinese-heritage, preschool-aged children. Among existing studies, most use White (often middle-income) parents as the normative group without considering how individuals of Chinese heritage (or individuals from other ethnic groups) might manifest culture-specific beliefs in their support of children’s social behaviors. To address the lack of culturally-relevant measures designed for the Chinese population, this study examined the construct validity of parental assessment of children’s peer play at home using the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scales-Parent Version (PIPPS-P). Construct validity was examined via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as through the use of a Chinese immigrant parent panel. Primary caregivers (N = 423) of preschool-aged children from predominantly low-income backgrounds were recruited from two northeastern cities. Results supported the existence of three distinct peer play dimensions. Results also provided culturally-nuanced information regarding items of the PIPPS-P for this Chinese immigrant combined sample. Correlational analyses further supported the construct validity of the PIPPS-P, with children’s play behaviors showing relations with emotion regulation and psychological adjustment variables. Both quantitative and panel findings suggested the need for future research to examine Chinese-heritage caregivers’ perspectives towards children’s play, particularly children’s disconnected play, and underscored the importance of having culturally and linguistically appropriate measures of children’s social behavior, adding to the call for engaging emic perspectives to inform research and practice.

Cross-Cultural Researchers’ Positionality in Immigrant Health Research: Reflections on Conducting Research on Chinese Immigrants’ Experiences in the United States

While a growing body of research has examined immigrants’ health generally, less is known specifically about the impact of immigration policy on the health of Chinese immigrants, the second-largest foreign-born population in the United States. This is due, in part, to the lack of methodologically well-trained, cross-cultural researchers who have both the cultural and linguistic expertise and health knowledge to engage with Chinese immigrant populations. This paper addresses this gap by examining Chinese cross-cultural researchers’ roles in the qualitative phase of the Research on ImmiGrant HealTh and State policy (RIGHTS) project, which sought to assess how immigration policies shaped Chinese and other immigrants’ experiences in healthcare and other related sectors in California. We used reflexivity to assess Chinese cross-cultural researchers’ positionality of insiderness and outsiderness and its influence on the process of data collection (i.e., recruitment, conducting interviews, transcription, and translation). Our reflexivity guides the assessment of the opportunities (e.g., expanding the recruitment pool, engaging participants more effectively in interviews, ensuring data integrity, and discussing heterogeneity within the Chinese immigrant community) and challenges (e.g., the difficulty of recruiting low-income and undocumented immigrants, addressing participants’ in-depth thoughts, the time-consuming nature of transcription and translation, and the assessment of power dynamics) in conducting immigrant health research with the Chinese community. These results highlight the need for cross-cultural researchers to help build trusting relationships with ethnic-minority communities, thus gaining new insights and advancing knowledge within the field of ethnic minority health research. These insights can guide future investigations of Chinese and other immigrant communities as research on immigration policy and health expands.

Intragroup comparative study on achievement of second generation Chinese newcomer

There are many challenges that immigrants to new countries face. Complicating efforts to understand and research these challenges are any ingrained attitudes surrounding immigration and the vast differences in attitudes and levels of immigration in each country. Not every place is the same, nor are all immigrants the same, even if they come from the same country. This makes comparisons of what was successful in one place difficult to make. For example, a country like the US, which has a longer history of immigration may have more established systems and theories on immigration and integration than a country like Japan, where historically, immigration has been low. In the US, immigrants from China are considered to have been successful in thriving and creating a Chinese-American population, but the situation is very different for the increasing Chinese-Japanese population found in Japan. Assistant Professor Kohei Tsubota and Research Associate Lifeng Liu are focusing their research on the second-generation Chinese immigrant population in Japan, in particular how an immigrant child can overcome disadvantages in a society that has no immigrant integration policy, and also, how the disparity structure and gender inequality of Chinese society affect their educational attainment after coming to Japan.

Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine Use With Adherence to Prescribed Western Rheumatic Medications Among Chinese American Patients: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Chinese Americans are a fast-growing immigrant group with worse rheumatic disease outcomes compared to white populations and frequently use traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Whether TCM use is associated with lower adherence to Western rheumatic medications is unknown. The present study was undertaken to examine adherence to Western medications for systemic rheumatic diseases in the Chinese American immigrant population and its association with TCM use. Chinese Americans actively treated for a systemic rheumatic disease were recruited from 2 Chinatown clinics. Sociodemographic, TCM use, and clinical data were gathered. Self-reported health status was assessed using Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System short forms. Adherence was stratified using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Factors independently associated with high adherence were identified using multivariable logistic regression. Of 230 subjects, the median age was 55 years (range 20-97 years), 65% were female, 71% had a high school education or less, 70% were enrolled in Medicaid, and 22% reported fluency in English. The most common rheumatic diagnoses were rheumatoid arthritis (41%), systemic lupus erythematosus (17%), and seronegative spondyloarthropathies (15%). One-half reported TCM use in the past year, and 28% reported high adherence to Western rheumatic medications. In multivariable analysis, high adherence was associated with TCM use (odds ratio [OR] 3.96, P < 0.001), being married (OR 3.69, P = 0.004), medication regimen complexity (OR 1.13, P = 0.004), and older age (OR 1.06, P < 0.001), and was negatively associated with anxiety (OR 0.94, P = 0.001). While adherence to Western rheumatic medications was low in this cohort, interestingly, it was higher among TCM users compared to nonusers. TCM use appears to represent a complementary rather than an alternate approach to disease management for these patients. Future studies should evaluate whether TCM use is associated with better disease outcomes.

Chinese immigrant smokers' access barriers to tobacco cessation services and experience using social media and text messaging.

INTRODUCTIONSmoking rates remain disproportionately high among Chinese immigrants in the US, particularly in males. Community-based smoking cessation services and quitlines have low engagement rates. Social media and text messaging programs can be effective in promoting quit rates and improving treatment engagement. This study examined Chinese immigrant smokers’ barriers to accessing available smoking cessation services and patterns of using social media platforms and mobile phone text messaging.METHODSWe conducted in-depth interviews (n=30) and a brief survey (n=49) with adult Chinese immigrant smokers leaving in New York City in 2018. Qualitative interviews explored smokers’ challenges with smoking cessation, barriers to accessing and using smoking cessation services, and experience using social media and text messaging. The quantitative survey assessed smoking and quitting behaviors, and social media and text messaging use patterns.RESULTSQualitative data revealed that participants faced various barriers to accessing cessation services, including the lack of awareness about services, skepticism about treatment effects, reliance on willpower for cessation, and time constraints. WeChat was mainly used to maintain social networking and acquire information. Participants rarely used text messaging or other social media platforms. Quantitative data showed that 55% of participants had no plan to quit smoking. Among those who reported past-year quit attempts (45%), 55% used cessation assistance. WeChat was the most frequently used platform with 94% users.CONCLUSIONSWeChat has potential to serve as an easily accessible platform for delivering smoking cessation treatment among Chinese immigrant populations. Research is warranted to explore the feasibility and efficacy of employing WeChat in smoking cessation treatment.

Parent and Provider Perspectives on the Diagnosis and Management of Autism in a Chinese Immigrant Population: Erratum.

Parent and Provider Perspectives on the Diagnosis and Management of Autism in a Chinese Immigrant Population: Erratum.

Parental stress and parenting in Chinese immigrant families: The mediating role of social support

AbstractAs the population of Chinese immigrants has been growing rapidly in the United States, it has been understudied on the parenting behaviours as well as the roles parental stress and social support playing in parenting in this group. This study investigated whether parental stress was associated with parenting and whether this relationship was mediated by social support in a sample of 255 Chinese immigrant parents from the Survey of Asian American Families in New York City. Regression analyses with a rich array of control variables found that a higher level of parental stress and the presence of one or more stressors such as unemployment, low income, and low education were positively associated with the use of harsh discipline and parent–child conflicts and negatively associated with positive parenting practices. Social support functioned as a significant mediator in the relationships between parental stress and positive parenting practices but not in the relationships of parental stress with parent–child conflict or the use of harsh discipline.

Parenting in Chinese Immigrant Families: A Critical Review of Consistent and Inconsistent Findings

Due to the fast growing population of Chinese immigrants in the Western countries, parenting in Chinese immigrant families has gained increasing attention in research. This paper identifies the consistent and inconsistent findings among contemporary studies on the parenting in immigrant Chinese families from three aspects, including parental beliefs and values, parental expectations, and parenting practices. This paper presents a critical review of 30 relevant empirical studies published during 2007–2017. These studies were searched systematically searched from four databases—A+ Education, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), ProQuest, and PsycINFO are to identify relevant articles. Research inconsistency is shown in three places, including the inconsistency: (1) between the studies describing parenting in Chinese immigrant families as a collection of characteristics and the studies describing parenting as a changing process, (2) within the studies that define parenting in Chinese immigrant families as a collection of characteristics, and (3) within the studies that conceptualize parenting as a changing process. The study finds that the different nature of data, research settings, and data collection methods are the main possible reasons for the inconsistent or even contradictory findings. Despite the research inconsistency, categorizing parenting into cultural groups and perceiving parenting as a collection of static characteristics are the two major limitations of these studies. To overcome these limitations, this paper argues for breaking stereotypes and investigating parenting as a dynamic process instead of a collection of static traits.

Unexpected high-risk pathologic features following thyroidectomy in the chinese immigrant population.

To compare rates of unexpected high-risk pathologic features between Chinese and non-Asian patients who underwent thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid cancer. This was a retrospective cohort study at a tertiary academic urban medical center. Patients who underwent thyroidectomy for papillary carcinoma from 2015 to 2017 were included. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and tumor histopathology were analyzed. Primary outcome was the presence of adverse histopathologic features such as lymphovascular invasion (LVI) or microscopic/minimal extrathyroidal extension (mETE). Differences between the groups were analyzed using multivariate logistical regression analysis and propensity score-weighted analysis. One hundred seventy-nine patients were included: 58 Chinese-born and 121 non-Asian. The median age of the cohort was 47 years old (36-58). Twenty-nine percent of patients were male, and 71% were female. There was no statistically significant difference between the two cohorts in rates of LVI, multifocality, extent of surgery, or presence of thyroiditis. Patients with mETE were more likely to have larger tumors (P = 0.00247). Both the multivariate and propensity-weighted models demonstrated that Chinese ancestry was independently associated with an increased rate of unexpected mETE (adjusted prevalence ratio, 2.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.82-3.48). mETE is significantly higher in the immigrant Chinese compared to the non-Asian population. Given the high prevalence of unexpected mETE in the Chinese population, the added risk of this finding should be brought into the discussion during initial surgical planning. 3 Laryngoscope, 130:1844-1849, 2020.

What Influences Philanthropic Participation by Chinese Internal Immigrants: Research Based on the Perspective of Integration

Philanthropic participation is a stepping stone to integration for immigrants. However, the philanthropic participation behavior of Chinese internal immigrants, the largest immigrant group in the world, is not well understood. Data from the Special Survey on Social Integration and Mental Health of the Chinese Immigrant Population are employed to examine philanthropic participation among Chinese internal immigrants based on the perspective of integration. The study demonstrates that Chinese internal immigrants are less likely to engage in philanthropic activities than non-immigrants in China. The regression results suggest that, with the exception of social security, integration factors at the economic level are not important drivers to participate in philanthropic activities, while integration factors at the social, psychological and cultural levels, including social networks, social identity and acculturation, are positively related to philanthropic participation. In addition, social integration circumstances, including perceived inclusion and community services, are significant drivers of immigrants’ philanthropic participation. These findings improve our understanding of the philanthropic behaviors of Chinese internal immigrants and have important policy implications for government and NPO to promote immigrants’ philanthropic engagement.

Inflammation and breast density among female Chinese immigrants: exploring variations across neighborhoods.

We examined associations of inflammation with breast density, a marker of breast cancer risk, among female Chinese immigrants and explored whether associations varied by neighborhood environment. Assessments of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNFR2), and breast density were performed among 401 Chinese immigrants across the Philadelphia region. Participant addresses were geocoded, with the majority residing in areas representing traditional urban enclaves (i.e., Chinatown and South Philadelphia) or an emerging enclave with a smaller, but rapidly growing Chinese immigrant population (i.e., the Near Northeast). The remainder was classified as residing in non-enclaves. In multivariable adjusted regression models, CRP was inversely associated with dense breast area (p = 0.01). Levels of sTNFR2 were also inversely associated with dense breast area, but these associations varied by neighborhood (interaction p = 0.01); specifically, inverse associations were observed among women residing in the emerging enclave (p = 0.03), but not other neighborhoods. Among Chinese immigrant women, aggregate analyses that do not take neighborhood context into consideration can mask potential variations in association of inflammatory markers with breast density. Future studies should consider how neighborhood contextual factors may contribute to differential risk pathways.