Acculturation: Refugees’ Health Care Satisfaction

Abstract

In the United States, refugees are disproportionately impacted by negative health outcomes, such as health care satisfaction, in comparison to natural born Americans. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate how acculturation shapes health care satisfaction. Three factors were used to examine acculturation in the study population: support systems (national, ethnic, and/or linguistic), English proficiency, and language preference. The primary researcher employed a qualitative study design by conducting semi-structured interviews with nine refugees who are residents in the City of Lancaster. There was a perceived relationship between English proficiency, social support, and health care satisfaction. This study’s results suggest that future studies should examine other factors, such as racial and ethnic differences, to further explore health care satisfaction in relation to refugee health and acculturation.