Immigrants' medical experiences are an important and yet rarely studied topic. To fill this gap, this article provides an exploratory investigation concerning how immigrant status, gender, and race affect Taiwanese immigrants' health care choices, their per-ceptions of medical professionals, and their health behavior in the United States. Data are based on 16 in-depth interviews and participant observations in a Taiwanese immigrant community in a Midwestern urban area. Findings suggest that Taiwanese immigrants rely heavily on their coethnics for gathering medical information. The subjects' perceptions of a physician's gender convey stereotypes and reflect sexual body boundaries. While aware of their minority status and its impact on health care, the subjects show racial prejudice toward Black physicians. They also often contrast the two medical systems in the sending and receiving societies when describing their health care experiences. Implications of this study for scholars and health care providers are discussed. © 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Doctor-patient interaction medical encounter Taiwanese immigrants Health care experience

perception immigrant migrants experience race health care United States gender