Chinese Immigrant Women's Experiences as Community Health Workers in Korea: A Focus Group Study

Abstract

Background The number of immigrant women in Korea is rapidly increasing. Immigrant women in Korea experience a host of health problems associated with living in a new country. Community health workers (CHWs) may be effective at delivering health promotion programs to vulnerable groups such as recent immigrants. Purpose Qualitative analysis was performed to identify the main themes characterizing the experiences of CHWs in recommending and guiding preventive screening tests for immigrant women. Methods This focus-group study was designed to investigate the experiences and perceptions of CHWs. We conducted interviews with 15 Chinese immigrant women who served as CHWs in a cancer screening program. We asked questions about the attitudes and perceptions that CHWs had from their research experiences. Each interview was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Results Three main themes emerged: (a) recognizing the need for preventive healthcare, (b) becoming the CHWs who help people to be healthy, and (c) challenges to overcome to make CHWs more active. The CHWs in this study were willing to help other Chinese immigrant women and to improve their competency to help more effectively. However, they recognized limitations on their ability to address problems when delivering a breast and cervical cancer screening program. Conclusions When training CHWs for immigrants in Korea, frequent opportunities for consultation should be provided during program delivery to facilitate troubleshooting and help CHWs overcome challenges. A program that utilizes CHWs for various minority groups is needed.