Health Disparity in Preventive Care Among Nigerian Immigrants in the United States

Health Disparity in Preventive Care Among Nigerian Immigrants in the United States by Loveday E. Nwobilor MS. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 1988 BS, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 1984 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Health Care Administration Walden University May 2017 Abstract The roles of immigration status in preventive health care services among Nigerian immigrants in the United States were investigated in this quantitative, cross-sectional survey study. About 260,724 Nigerian immigrants reside in the Unites States, but many do not complete lifesaving preventive health services such as immunization and screening, a major factor contributing to the rise in the cost of healthcare resultant fromThe roles of immigration status in preventive health care services among Nigerian immigrants in the United States were investigated in this quantitative, cross-sectional survey study. About 260,724 Nigerian immigrants reside in the Unites States, but many do not complete lifesaving preventive health services such as immunization and screening, a major factor contributing to the rise in the cost of healthcare resultant from their use of emergency room services. This study investigated the extent to which immigration status independently explains the relationship between health disparities and risks in non-completion of preventive health care among Nigerian immigrants in the United States by comparing data from Nigerian immigrant adults residing in the United States to data from the African American adults in the United States. Socio-cognitive theory and the social behavioral model served as the conceptual framework for this study. There were 291 adult Nigerian immigrants in the cross-sectional survey using a purposive sampling technique. The data were analyzed using the Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances, the Pearson’s ChiSquare test and the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. The Kruskal-Wallis results showed that there was a significant difference in screening for preventive care services among the 4 immigrant status categories (p = .000) based on length of residency in the United States. Understanding the health disparities of this population according to their country of origin and immigration status will assist health providers with awareness of population-specific health needs, and may be beneficial in designing public health programs for this population group. Health Disparity in Preventive Care Among Nigerian Immigrants in the United States by Loveday E. Nwobilor MS, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 1988 BS, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 1984 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Health Care Administration Walden University May 2017 Dedication I dedicate this work to my Dad, Chief Apollos Manume Amadi, and my Mom Patience Amadi. I also dedicate this work to my great uncles, Chief Loveday Elechi and Fyneface Amadi. Moreover, to my wife and children who motivated me to continue my education, I dedicate this dissertation to you. Acknowledgments I will like to take this opportunity to thank my Chair, Dr. John Oswald, and Dr. Harold Okere for continuous advising and mentoring in this work. In so many instances when I started to slow own, Dr. Okere would re-assure me. Thank you, Dr. Okere for being patient and understanding. I will have to thank the Nigerian Community in the United States who responded to the invitation, and to my special friend Celestine Njoku and wife, and to my family in Nigeria for encouraging me to pursue this work.