Liu Echu, Arledge Samantha A, Cai Miao, Tao Donghua, Li Wei
Department of Health Management and Policy, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, United States.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Int J Public Health. 2023 Oct 6;68:1605788. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1605788. eCollection 2023.
This research examines the health insurance literacy and healthcare utilization of international students attending a university in the US Midwest. One hundred and forty-three undergraduate and graduate students attending a midsize metropolitan university in the Midwest completed an online survey in early 2022. Many students surveyed could not identify the definitions of basic terms, such as copay. Furthermore, about 80% of students surveyed could not determine their financial responsibilities in two medical settings. Regression results show that the continent they are from and the length of their stay in the United States significantly predict their understanding of key health insurance terms. More than half of the international students surveyed indicated they often feel confused about their health insurance (57.34%). Only about 20% have delayed or skipped care due to unfamiliarity with the health insurance system. The health insurance literacy of most international students at the midwestern university we surveyed is not ideal. This and possibly other universities in the United States should take more initiatives to help their international students understand the health insurance system.
本研究考察了在美国中西部一所大学就读的国际学生的健康保险知识水平和医疗服务利用情况。2022年初，143名就读于中西部一所中型都市大学的本科生和研究生完成了一项在线调查。许多接受调查的学生无法识别基本术语的定义，比如自付费用。此外，约80%的接受调查学生无法确定他们在两种医疗情况下的财务责任。回归结果显示，他们来自的大陆以及在美国的停留时间显著预测了他们对关键健康保险术语的理解。超过一半的接受调查国际学生表示，他们经常对自己的健康保险感到困惑（57.34%）。只有约20%的学生因不熟悉健康保险系统而推迟或放弃了治疗。我们调查的这所中西部大学的大多数国际学生的健康保险知识水平并不理想。这所大学以及美国其他可能的大学应该采取更多举措，帮助其国际学生了解健康保险系统。
