Immigration as a Social Determinant of Healthcare Access

                             
Short Response Paper A (3)
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Immigration as a Social Determinant of Healthcare Access
Introduction
Healthcare in the United States is a social aspect that has always prompted advocation and reforms from various administrative quarters. The research shows the social factor regarding healthcare access within a small Jackson Heights, New York Community. As described, when compared to other boroughs, the demography of Jackson Heights is characterized by diverse communities. Consequently, the research has also shown that various determinants affect the accessibility of healthcare services in the neighborhood. This research points to immigration as a social determinant of healthcare access. In this response, immigration as a determinant would be considered a pervasive socio-economic factor in accessing healthcare. In the Jackson Heights setup, immigration greatly determines how the population can access the healthcare it desperately needs. In some ways, this determinant has a connection to other social factors, such as insurance.
Body
The Jackson Heights neighborhood is part of Queens County's dense population. Out of this, more than half (59.5 percent) of the Jackson Heights population are immigrants (Olson et al., 2006). The aspect of immigration has three major implications for accessing healthcare services. Firstly, based on the immigrants' status, there is a high likelihood of fear towards the authorities. Secondly, since a significant 28.9 percent of Jackson Heights' population does not speak English, a language barrier is created. This translates to communication difficulties with healthcare providers. Lastly, due to the fear of authorities and communication problems, immigrants have negative experiences regarding access to healthcare.
According to the research project, the United States healthcare system poses various complexities and costs that cause many people to want to avoid it. For the large population with small native roots, cases of undocumented immigrants exist. As in the research, it is agreeable that undocumented immigrants particularly av...