First Advisor

Dr.Betty Izumi

Date of Award

Spring 6-12-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biology and University Honors

Department

Biology

Language

English

Subjects

healthcare access, healthcare utilization and services, health insurance, language proficiency

Abstract

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in the U.S. According to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau population estimate, Asian Americans account for 25.2 million (or 7.4%) of the nation's population (Bureau, 2025). Asian Americans are not a monolith and represent a diversity of rich histories, cultures, languages and ethnicities (Budima et al, 2021). According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, most Asian Americans face discrimination of some kind, including being treated as a foreigner in the U.S and being stereotyped as a model minority (Ruiz et al., 2023). They also experience health care access barriers. Research found that Asian Americans face barriers related to language challenges, cultural differences, financial constraints, lack of resources and support of equitable healthcare access. For example, they often experience discrimination in appointment scheduling, problems with longer wait times for treatment and unfair treatment decisions from physicians (Clough et al., 2013; Wisniewski et al., 2023; Ye et al., 2011). These experiences make Asian American communities have less trust and confidence in obtaining health information, and causes difficulties building trust relationships with health care providers. Therefore, this review identifies health care access barriers among Asian Americans with a focus on differences between those who are U.S. born and foreign born.

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