Perceived Discrimination and Health Outcomes Among Asian Indians in the United States

Background: Perceived interpersonal discrimination while seeking healthcare services is associated with poor physical and mental health. Yet, there is a paucity of research among Asian Americans or its subgroups. This study examined the correlates of reported interpersonal discrimination when seeking health care among a large sample of Asian Indians, the 3rd largest Asian American subgroup in the US, and identify predictors of adverse self-rated physical health, a well-accepted measure of overall health status. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Participants comprised of 1824 Asian Indian adults in six states with higher concentration of Asian Indians. Results: Mean age and years lived in the US was 45.7 ± 12.8 and 16.6 ± 11.1 years respectively. The majority of the respondents was male, immigrants, college graduates, and had access to care. Perceived interpersonal discrimination when seeking health care was reported by a relatively small proportion of the population (7.2 %). However, Asian Indians who reported poor self-rated health were approximately twice as likely to perceived discrimination when seeking care as compared to those in good or excellent health status (OR 1.88; 95 % CI 1.12–3. 14). Poor self-rated health was associated with perceived health care discrimination after controlling for all of the respondent characteristics (OR 1.93; 95 % CI: 1.17–3.19). In addition, Asian Indians who lived for more than 10 years in the U.S. (OR 3.28; 95 % CI: 1.73–6.22) and had chronic illnesses (OR 1.39; 95 % CI: 1.17–1.64) (p \u3c 0.05) were more likely to perceive discrimination when seeking health care. However, older Asian Indians, over the age of 55 years, were less likely to perceive discrimination than those aged 18–34 years Indian American. Conclusion: Results offers initial support for the hypothesis that Asian Indians experience interpersonal discrimination when seeking health care services and that these experiences may be related to poor self-rated health status

The course of the acute vertebral body fragility fracture: its effect on pain, disability and quality of life during 12 months

The vertebral body fracture is the most frequent bone fragility fracture. In spite of this there is considerable uncertainty about the frequency, extent and severity of the acute pain and even more about the duration of pain, the magnitude of disability and how much daily life is disturbed in the post-fracture period. The aim of the present study was to follow the course of pain, disability, ADL and QoL in patients during the year after an acute low energy vertebral body fracture. The study design was a longitudinal cohort study with prospective data collection. All the patients over 40 years admitted to the emergency unit because of back pain with a radiologically acute vertebral body fracture were eligible. A total of 107 patients were followed for a year. The pain, disability (von Korff pain and disability scores), ADL (Hannover ADL score), and QoL (EQ-5D) were measured after 3 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months. Two-thirds of the patients were women, and were similar in average age, as the men around 75 years. A total of 65.4% of the fractures were due to a level fall or a minor trauma, whereas 34.6% had no recollection of trauma or a specific event as the cause of the fracture. A total of 76.6% of the fractured patients were immediately mobilized and allowed to return home while the remaining were hospitalized. The average pain intensity score after 3 weeks was 70.9 (SD 19.3), the disability score 68.9 (SD 23.6), the ADL score 37.7 (SD 22.1) and EQ-5D score of 0.37 (SD 0.37). The largest improvements, 10–15%, occurred between the initial visit and the 3 months follow-up and were quite similar for all the measures. From 3 months, all the outcome measures leveled out or tended to deteriorate resulting in a mean pain intensity score of 60.5, disability score of 53.9, ADL score of 47.6, and EQ-5D score 0.52 after 12 months. After a whole year the fractured patients’ condition was similar to the preoperative condition of patients with a herniated lumbar disc, central lumbar spinal stenosis or in patients 100% work disabled due to back or neck problems. Instead of the generally believed good prognosis for the greater majority of those fractured, the acute vertebral body fracture was the beginning of a long-lasting severe deterioration of their health

The San Francisco Chinese Food Security Module: Validation of a Translation of the US Household Food Security Survey Module

There are no validated scales for measuring the prevalence of food insecurity among U.S. Chinese speakers. We validated the newly developed SF Chinese Food Security Module (a translation of the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module) among 483 Chinese-speaking adults at a street fair. Most (8/10) of the translated items performed well compared to national statistics. Food insecure households had lower income and higher financial stress and used more food coping strategies. We conclude that the translated scale successfully identifies food insecure households in a community-based sample of Chinese-speaking adults. The module is suitable for use among Chinese American immigrants, although further development is needed to assess severe food insecurity

Knowledge acquisition from foreign parents in international joint ventures: an empirical examination in the Hungarian context

In this paper, we examine organizational characteristics, structural mechanisms and contextual factors that influence knowledge acquisition from the foreign parent in international joint ventures (IJVs). We in turn relate assessments of knowledge acquisition to IJV performance. The data come from a survey of IJVs in the Hungarian context, where learning and knowledge acquisition from the foreign parent is thought to be particularly critical. Adaptation mechanisms, such as capacity to learn, articulated goals, and structural mechanisms, such as the provision of training, technology and managerial assistance by foreign parents, all were positively associated with the degree to which IJVs reported acquiring knowledge from their foreign parents. We also found limited support for the belief that cultural conflicts can impede knowledge acquisition, but only for two-party joint ventures with 50/50 equity arrangements. We also looked at the relationship between knowledge acquisition and different dimensions for evaluating IJV performance. The relationship between knowledge acquisition and performance was significant for all indicators of performance, through knowledge acquisition from the foreign parent and the organizational characteristics hypothesized to enhance IJV knowledge acquisition affected assessments of some dimensions of performance more than others. Our findings contribute to advancing knowledge about the relationship between organizational characteristics and organizational knowledge acquisition in IJVs, as well as the relationships between knowledge acquisition and different dimensions of IJV performance. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 3–18. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400243

Cross-Border Learning, Technological Turbulence and Firm Performance

Using knowledge-based view (KBV) and contingency arguments, we develop and test a model that investigates the relationship between the effectiveness and efficiency of cross-border knowledge gained from international business affiliates (IBAs) and the focal (recipient) firm’s performance. We argue that both of these dimensions of learning not only have a direct and positive effect on the performance of the focal firm but also a synergistic one. Also, we suggest that the direct and positive effect of both the effectiveness and the efficiency in learning from the IBA on focal firm performance is moderated by the technological turbulence of the context in which the focal firm operates. Results indicate that the effectiveness of learning, although not the efficiency in learning, positively impacts the focal firm’s performance. However, cross-border learning efficiency and effectiveness jointly improve the focal firm’s performance. Results show that the level of technological turbulence attenuates the positive effect of the effectiveness of learning on the focal firm’s performance. In fact, under high technological turbulence conditions, effective learning becomes detrimental to the focal firm’s performance