OBJECTIVES: To examine racial/ethnic/immigration disparities in health and to investigate the relationships among race/ethnic/immigration status, delayed health care, and health of the elderly.DESIGN AND SAMPLE: Responses from 13,508 people aged 65 and above were analyzed based on the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2011-2012.MEASURES: Key variables include race/ethnicity/immigration status, health outcome, and delayed health care. Age, gender, education, work status, and annual family income are used as covariates.RESULTS: The findings indicate that Whites (regardless of country of birth) and U.S.-born Asians enjoy better health than Latinos, African-Americans, and Foreign-born Asians. Foreign-born Asians and foreign-born Latinos have the poorest self-reported health and mental health, respectively. Delayed use of health care is negatively associated with both self-reported health and mental health status.CONCLUSIONS: Health disparities exist among older adult populations; the combined effects of minority and immigrant status can be approximated from the results in this study. Health care accessibility and the quality of care should be promoted in minority/immigrant populations. Public health nurses have a strong potential to aide in reducing health disparities among an aging American population that continues to exhibit increasing racial/ethnic diversity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Health disparity race/ethnicity and immigration delayed health care older adults

Caucasian health disparity Health Status Disparities minority group Continental Population Groups ancestry group human Ethnic Groups statistics and numerical data ethnic group Aged Health Surveys African American Hispanic Americans Humans migrant Hispanic California Asian Americans male Emigrants and Immigrants Minority Groups Aged, 80 and over Asian American very elderly female migration European Continental Ancestry Group Emigration and Immigration African Americans Time-to-Treatment time to treatment health survey