School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
College of State Governance, Southwest University, Chongqing city, People's Republic of China.
Ethn Health. 2023 Oct;28(7):1069-1082. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2023.2208314. Epub 2023 May 17.
Depression among Korean American (KA) immigrants in rural Alabama is understudied. This study aims to utilize the social determinants of health (SDOH) framework to explore factors associated with depressive symptoms among KA immigrants living in rural communities of Alabama.
Data were collected from two sites in rural Alabama from September 2019 to February 2020. Convenience sampling was conducted to recruit study participants from the KA community. A total number of 261 KA immigrants aged 23-75 were included in the study. All measures originally in English were translated into Korean using back-translation to assure comparability and equivalence in the meaning of measures. Multiple linear regression modeling was used to explore the predictors of depression.
Perceived race discrimination was significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms ( = .180, = .534, < .01). Three SDOH were identified to have significant relationship with depressive symptoms. Participants who could not see a doctor because of cost ( = .247, = 1.118, < .001), had lower level of health literacy ( = -.121, = .280, < .05), and had higher social isolation scores ( = .157, = .226, < .05) tended to have higher scores of depressive symptoms.
Rural-living KA immigrants' depression can be significantly affected by race discrimination and SDOH factors, emphasizing the need for culturally competent interventions and services. Policymakers, federal and local governments, non-governmental organizations, and social workers can make joint efforts to address racial discrimination and improve the mental health services among immigrant populations, especially those living in rural areas.
在阿拉巴马州农村地区，对韩裔美国（KA）移民的抑郁症研究不足。本研究旨在利用健康的社会决定因素（SDOH）框架，探讨生活在阿拉巴马州农村社区的 KA 移民中与抑郁症状相关的因素。
数据于 2019 年 9 月至 2020 年 2 月从阿拉巴马州的两个农村地点收集。通过方便抽样从 KA 社区招募研究参与者。共纳入了 261 名年龄在 23-75 岁之间的 KA 移民。所有最初用英文的测量工具都被翻译成韩语，通过回译确保测量工具在意义上具有可比性和等效性。采用多元线性回归模型来探讨抑郁的预测因素。
感知到的种族歧视与更大的抑郁症状显著相关（ = .180， = .534，< .01）。有三个 SDOH 与抑郁症状有显著关系。由于费用而无法看医生的参与者（ = .247， = 1.118，< .001）、健康素养水平较低的参与者（ = -.121， = .280，< .05）和社会隔离得分较高的参与者（ = .157， = .226，< .05）往往有更高的抑郁症状评分。
农村地区生活的 KA 移民的抑郁可能会受到种族歧视和 SDOH 因素的显著影响，这强调了需要提供文化上合适的干预措施和服务。政策制定者、联邦和地方政府、非政府组织和社会工作者可以共同努力，解决种族歧视问题，并改善移民群体，特别是生活在农村地区的移民的心理健康服务。
