THE HEALTH-STATUS AND HEALTH NEEDS OF CHINESE POPULATION IN GLASGOW

This cross sectional study explored the health problems and health nee ds in the local Chinese community in Glasgow. Several data collection methods have been used in this study including face-to-face and teleph one structured interviews, postal and hand delivered questionnaires. A total of 800 questionnaires were processed, and 493 were completed, g iving an overall response rate 61.6%. The results from the present sur vey indicated that the health status of Chinese residents in Glasgow i s poorer than that of the local population. The most important finding s of the study is that the Chinese community in Glasgow underuse healt h services, and unmet health needs exist in the community. The main ba rrier to effective use of present health services and benefit from the health promotion and health education programmes is language difficul ties. Following discussion with the local community, options for impro ving the health services for the Chinese community in Glasgow were obt ained. The findings of the study have implications for health service purchaser/providers of health care to the Chinese population generally in Scotland.