Social capital and self-rated health among older Korean immigrants

The objective of this article is to investigate determinants of self-rated health and describe their association with social capital and socioeconomic characteristics among older Korean immigrants.

A cross-sectional study of 205 older Korean immigrants (aged 60 years and older) was conducted in Los Angeles county. Independent variables included age, gender, marital status, income of the older Koreans, and social capital included social norms, trust, partnership with the community, information sharing, and political participation. Self-rated health was the dependent variable.

Descriptive analyses were done to show group differences in self-rated health and logistic regression analyses to identify determinants of self-rated health. Gender (male), high income, and high levels of information sharing were significant determinants of high self-rated health status among older Korean immigrants.

This population-based study provides empirical evidence that gender, income, and information sharing are directly associated with the self-rated health status of older Korean immigrants.