Social Work the Research in This Study

¶ … Social Work

The research in this study is exploratory and descriptive. The study begins with the declaration that this topic of study has been pursued in the past, yet the sampling methods used proved ineffective in defining or describing why less Asian-Americans utilize healthcare services in the United States. This research seeks to describe the problem of little use of healthcare with their study. The research in this study classifies the phenomenon of lack of healthcare service use/participation by Asian-Americans. The research problem is that Asian-Americans are not using the healthcare services available to them for a variety of reasons. The research problem is stated clearly in the first two pages of the study. In this study, there were no listed hypotheses, instead there are objectives. The objectives of the study are:

…(1) examine rates of mental health-related service use among immigrant and U.S.-born Asian-Americans during a 12-month period, (2) identify patterns of help seeking as they varied by need and immigration-related characteristics, (3) explore perceptions of satisfaction with care and helpfulness, and (4) compare differences in patterns of mental health-related service use among individuals who had a probable need for services…and those who had no probable need for services…(Abe-Kim et al., 2007,-Page 92)

The methodology used in this study was to take the data from other surveys such as the NLAAS (National Latino and Asian-American Survey), the NCS-R (National Comorbidity Survey Replication), and the NSAL (National Survey of American Life). The sampling took place in three stages. The first stage was core sampling, the second stage was high-density supplemental sampling, and the third stage was second respondent sampling to recruit participants that were previously deemed ineligible. (Abe-Kim, et al., 2007,-Page 92) The sampling methodology seemed appropriate, but it could have been more fresh and exact. The researchers could have not based their samples on previously sampled participants. Instead part of their study could have been to seek out new participants, such as in the third stage of their sampling methods. The population is very clearly identified. The population of the participants is central to the validity to the study; therefore, the researchers took additional time to identify strong samples as well as review participants that were previously deemed ineligible or irrelevant to the study so as to include as many participants of Asian descent residing in America as possible. The population in question is Asian-Americans. The researchers sought Asians who immigrated from outside of the United States, specifically straight from Asia. They sought Asian-Americans who were not born in the United States but have been residing in the U.S.A. For the long-term. They included as many peoples available from across Asia in their study. The participants were mainly adolescents and adult Asian-Americans. Approximately 2, 100 persons participated in this study that fell within the criteria of the researchers.

An issue of validity for the research team has to do with the reliability of the other sources from which they gather their data. As aforementioned, the researchers used data from previous studies and surveys. If the data in any or all of those surveys used is compromised in some way, then their data, which is based on and in some ways contingent upon the data of the other surveys, their data is compromised or invalidated. Because this area of research is fairly new and unexplored, there is an inherent issue of reliability. It is a challenge to endeavor to research in an area as yet firmly explored. The community of researchers may be hesitant or resistant to new research that lacks a substantial context within which to consider and compare the data, conclusions, and hypotheses in question. This is the challenge the authors of this particular study face. This is a study about Asian-Americans, and most of the authors are Asian-American. Some of the critics of this research may argue reliability as though being a part of the group in question may be an asset during the research stages, some may perceive the ethnic alignment as a sign of bias or potential unreliability.

The conclusions were consistent with the findings. The conclusions were that the longer the participants have been in America, the more likely they are to seek healthcare services, and the more healthcare services they are likely to receive in general. There is a directly proportional relationship between the amount of time spent in the U.S.A. Or the number of generation the participant is in the U.S.A. (second, third, fourth generation Asian-American, etc.) and the probability of seeking healthcare as well as the probability of satisfaction with the healthcare service provided. The data and findings align with the conclusions of the researchers completely. The findings are generalizable in the U.S.A. outside the confines of the study. The findings cannot be generalized around the world because the reasons why Asian-Americans do not seek healthcare, according to the study, are widely because of cultural differences between Asian cultures and American culture. The differences between Asian cultures and non-American cultures are not entirely the same as the ones between Asian cultures and American cultures, thereby preventing the results to be transferable across all cultures.