Medical transnationalism : Korean immigrants' medical tourism to home country

Medical Transnationalism examines Korean immigrants’ distinctive healthcare behaviors, contributing factors to their medical tourism, and their experiences and evaluations of medical tourism. Analyzing survey data of 507 Korean immigrants and in-depth interviews with 120 Korean immigrants in the New York–New Jersey area, this book finds that there are three distinctive types of healthcare behaviors that Korean immigrants employ to deal with their barriers (e.g., the language barrier and not having health insurance) to formal US healthcare: dependence on co-ethnic doctors in the United States, the use of Hanbang (traditional Korean medicine) in the United States, and medical tours to the homeland. This book also finds that social transnational ties and health insurance status are the most influential contributing factors to Korean immigrants’ decision to take medical tours to the home country. The vast majority of Korean immigrant medical tourists are satisfied with their medical tourism experiences. In this book, Sou Hyun Jang makes both empirical and theoretical contributions to the literature on immigrant healthcare and immigrant transnationalism by focusing on one immigrant group and connecting medical transnationalism to other types of transnationalism. The findings of this book imply that health programs for the most marginalized group—small business owners and their employees—and better support for bilingual Korean-English translators at hospitals are needed. Medical Transnationalism Medical Transnationalism: Korean Immigrants’ Medical Tourism to South Korea copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Background The Need for the Study Main Objectives Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Data Sources and Research Methods Structure of the Book Chapter 1 Literature Review and Background Information A Review of Literature on Medical Tourism A Review of Literature on Korean Immigrants’ Healthcare Behaviors Background Information about Korean Immigrants in the United States Chapter 2 The Development of Medical Tourism in Korea and the Related Issues Medical Tourism in Competing Asian Countries The Development of Medical Tourism and the Korean Government’s Efforts to Promote It Private Sector Agencies’ Efforts to Promote Medical Tourism The Efforts to Promote Korean Immigrants’ Medical Tourism The Consequences of Medical Tourism in Korea Problems Related to Medical Tourism Chapter 3 Korean Immigrants’ Healthcare Behaviors in the United States Barriers and Difficulties to Formal US Healthcare Preference for Co-ethnic Doctors and Dependency on Them Practice of Hanbang Medical Tours to the Home Country Chapter 4 Factors Contributing to Korean Immigrants’ Medical Tourism Transnational Ties as Contributing Factors to Medical Tourism Health Insurance Status as a Contributing Factor to Medical Tourism Temporary Residence Status as a Contributing Factor to Medical Tourism Chapter 5 Korean Immigrants’ Medical Tourism Experience and Evaluation Medical Tourism Experience Evaluation of Medical Tourism A Summary of Major Findings Contributions and Policy Implications The Direction of Future Research Conclusion Appendix: Characteristics of Korean Immigrant Survey Respondents Bibliography Index About the Author This comprehensive book, with the analysis of a large-scale survey and in-depth personal interviews through the lens of social theory, covers different aspects of Korean immigrants’ barriers to formal US healthcare and their distinctive healthcare behaviors to cope with these barriers.