Health literacy, depression, and stress among Chinese immigrants in South Korea

This study examined health literacy, depression, and stress in Chinese immigrants living in South Korea, and analyzed factors related to these outcomes.

This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study.

Participants were 128 adult Chinese immigrants living in the Jung-gu District of Seoul, South Korea. The majority of the participants were women and in their 40s; had a high school diploma; and were employed and married. Most had lived in Korea for 5-10 years.

Outcome variables were health literacy, depression, and immigrant stress; independent variables were sociodemographic characteristics, language proficiency, health, and behavioral factors. Hierarchical multiple regression models based on the conceptual framework were tested.

The major factor influencing health literacy was perceived economic status (p = 0.021). The factors related to depression were life satisfaction in China (p = 0.032), life satisfaction in Korea (p = 0.040), and stress perception in everyday life (p = 0.001).

As the number of immigrants rises, there is increasing demand for public-health-center-based health promotion programs for immigrants. It is recommended that local public health practitioners, including public health nurses, closely analyze the characteristics of their community and immigrants, and develop and implement customized programs accordingly.