Health care service use by Chinese seniors in British Columbia, Canada

This paper assesses whether the same factors are predictive of health service utilization among this ethnic group as is true of the general population of seniors. The data suggest that the health of Chinese elders is just as bad as other seniors, and their utilization is very similar. They have a strong preference for Western over Chinese medicine and for Western trained doctors over Chinese practitioners, and use services with Chinese staff, probably because of language. Similarly, the predictors of service use are strikingly similar to predictors revealed in utilization studies throughout the industrialized world. Ability to speak English, immigration history, and country of origin are unrelated to the use of these services. However, approximately half of Chinese seniors also engage in traditional Chinese care. Religious beliefs and a preference for traditional Chinese medicine are strongly predictive of the use of traditional care. It would appear that distinctive culture is related to the use of traditional care, but not the use of the western health care system.