| Summary: | 碩士 === 義守大學 === 醫務管理學系 === 101 === At the end of the 1990s, Taiwan’s political and economic situation changed, women had increased their economic ability, making it difficult for men from medium to low socioeconomic statuses to find wives. Since these men still have the pressure of having children to passing on the family line, therefore marriage agencies have gone to countries that are less economically advanced than Taiwan, such as Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Burma to find women as their spouses. In addition, since people in Taiwan and China permitted to engage each other, there are more and more people who go to China to visit relatives, travel, and do business; there has been a rapid increase in the number of cross-strait marriages. At this time, foreign female spouses have become the fifth largest ethnic group in Taiwan, and issues about caring for them have received increased attention.
Since foreign female spouses differ from Taiwanese in terms of language, culture, customs and habits, as well as their behaviors in seeking medical treatment, they face some problems adapting to life in Taiwan. Furthermore, their husbands’ families in Taiwan generally have lower socioeconomic statuses, and the focus of their lives is usually on adapting to new life for survival, and this tends to result in social alienation and estrangement from medical treatment, as they overlook the importance of their own health. In reviewing relevant literature, this study finds that after foreign spouses come to Taiwan, the living situations and usage of medical resources is low, making them unable to obtain comprehensive “human rights to health.”
In order to elevate the health and medical treatment behaviors of foreign spouses, this study not only investigates the condition of usage of medical service and medical treatment evaluation by foreign spouses in Taiwan, but also refers to the usage of medical service behavioral model theory proposed by Andersen to explore the correlations between the personal trait predisposing factors, usable resources factors, service need factors, and conditions of usage of medical service and satisfaction with usage of medical service of foreign spouses. This study uses questionnaires to investigate 203 foreign female spouses living in Yanchao District and Sanmin District of Kaohsiung City, and finding that:
1. 5.The surveys showed that 66% of the foreign female spouses have lived in Taiwan for more than 8 years; 53.2% are from Vietnam, and 25.1% from China; their average age is 37.88. 58.6% only have junior high school level education or less. They believe they have outstanding listening comprehension in Chinese. 72.4% state that the average monthly incomes of their families are under NTD30,000. In terms of health, 44.8% have normal health, 17.2% have very good health, 86.2% do not have chronic diseases, and 95.1% have national insurance cards. Even though 62.1% state that it is very important to accept preventative physical health examinations. There are still a lot of chances to improve and elevate health knowledge for the foreign female spouses.
2. In the most recent year, in terms of reasons for visiting a doctor or not visiting a doctor, 43.7% of the foreign female spouses state that it was primarily because of physical discomfort, and for general health checkups. As for the reasons for not visiting a doctor within the last year, 40.5% state that it was because their works were too busy, followed by ignoring problems and resting more (19.4%). In terms of medical treatment behaviors often used, 43.7% would visit Western medical doctors and take Western medicines when they are sick, followed by visiting Chinese medical doctors and take Chinese medicines (21.6%); some would buy medicines taking at drug stores (18.2%). In addition, 9.7% would attempt folk treatments (such as gua sha, traditional Chinese massage, and taking herbal medicines). 4.7% would find Taoist to calm them down, pray at a temple, or ingest amulets.
3. The top five items with high satisfaction in medical treatment are: feeling calm with the independent space and security for diagnosis, convenient for visiting doctors at nearby medical institutions, having comprehensive and advanced medical equipment, the overall space is clean and comfortable, trusting the medical services provided by medical personnel, and there are clear markings and guidance for locations in the medical environment. The top five items with low satisfaction in medical treatment are: waiting to see a doctor takes too long, the time spent in the reception area is too long, initiative to provide information services regarding the social welfare subsidies matters is not good enough, the wait for pricing is too long, and parking is inconvenient at the medical institutions.
4. The personal trait predisposing, enabling, and need factors of foreign female spouses can predict health maintenance methods in usage of medical service, while the predisposing and need factors can predict some items in medical service usage and health examinations.
5. The personal trait predisposing, enabling, and need factors of foreign female spouses show variations in some health maintenance methods in usage of medical service; the predisposing and need factors show differences in some items in medical service usage and health examinations.
6. The personal trait predisposing, enabling and need factors of foreign female spouses can predict the tangibility, convenience, politeness, reliability, and overall medical visit evaluation in satisfaction.
7. The personal trait predisposing, enabling, and need factors of foreign female spouses show significant variations in the tangibility, convenience, politeness, responsiveness, reliability, and overall medical visit evaluation in satisfaction.
This study also suggests:
1. Enhance the hygiene education and health consciousness of foreign female spouses
There are still a lot of chances to improve the health knowledge of foreign female spouses; it is suggested that there should be explanations of using multiple languages and pictures at communities, medical treatment facilities, gathering sites for new immigrants, to elicit their reading interest and comprehension.
2. Suggestions for advancing the willingness of foreign female spouses to seek medical treatment Continue to provide and enhance the tangibility, convenience, politeness, responsiveness, and reliability of medical services at medical institutions; it is especially important to strengthen provision of information service about social medical subsidy requirements and new national health insurance requirements to help them understand and use information in a timely manner to avoid losing their rights.
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