Patterns of Healthcare Access and Utilization Among Nigerian Immigrants in the Greater Washington, DC, Area

A major public health concern in the Washington, DC, area for the many African immigrants is their access to and use of health services. This quantitative cross-sectional correlational study investigated 8 barriers and 8 enablers of Nigerian immigrants' use of healthcare and their relationships to 8 demographic characteristics. A sample of 111 individuals from the Washington, DC area participated in the study. Andersen's 1995 theoretical model of healthcare utilization was used for this study. Bivariate analyses, Pearson's product-moment correlations, and Spearman's rho rank-order correlations were used to examine the relationships between the variables. Results for Pearson's indicated positive associations among 5 barriers and the demographics of lack of health insurance and marital status, lack of usual source of care and tribal affiliation, lack of finances and educational level and length of residence in the United States, lack of transportation and education and employment status, and little satisfaction with healthcare professionals and gender. Results for Pearson's also indicated positive associations among 4 enablers and the demographics of presence of usual source of care and tribal affiliation, availability of transportation and education and employment status, mastery of English and gender, and constructive health beliefs and family support and gender. With regard to Spearman's rho correlations tests, results did not show any major difference in the relationships among selected variables. These nonsignificant correlations call for further research because these findings corroborated on that of previous studies and contradicted others. Additional research could provide further insights in the relationships among the study variables. Implications for positive social change include increased awareness and use of healthcare services for the underserved population of Nigerian immigrants.