Table 2.
Participants’ social and health-related characteristics by income levels of countries of origin
| LICs | MICs | HICs | All | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 204 (17.8%) | 654 (57.1%) | 288 (25.1%) | 1146 | ||
| Social integration in China | |||||
| Has a Chinese name | 0.433 | ||||
| No | 115 (56.9) | 340 (52.3) | 148 (51.4) | 603 (52.9) | |
| Yes | 87 (43.1) | 310 (47.7) | 140 (48.6) | 537 (47.1) | |
| Has education experience in China | < 0.001abc | ||||
| No | 97 (47.8) | 377 (57.8) | 194 (67.6) | 668 (58.5) | |
| Yes | 106 (52.2) | 275 (42.2) | 93 (32.4) | 474 (41.5) | |
| Proficiency in Mandarin | 0.316 | ||||
| Know nothing | 45 (22.8) | 109 (18.0) | 58 (20.3) | 212 (19.5) | |
| Know little | 82 (41.6) | 236 (39.1) | 114 (39.9) | 432 (39.8) | |
| Fair | 46 (23.4) | 176 (29.1) | 74 (25.9) | 296 (27.2) | |
| Fluent | 24 (12.2) | 83 (13.7) | 40 (14.0) | 147 (13.5) | |
| Proficiency in English | 0.094 | ||||
| Know nothing | 6 (2.9) | 20 (3.1) | 4 (1.4) | 30 (2.7) | |
| Know little | 33 (16.2) | 73 (11.4) | 50 (17.7) | 156 (13.8) | |
| Fair | 61 (29.9) | 191 (29.8) | 58 (20.5) | 310 (27.5) | |
| Fluent | 104 (51.0) | 358 (55.8) | 171 (60.4) | 633 (56.1) | |
| Social network in China | |||||
| Number of Chinese acquaintances in Guangzhou | 0.107 | ||||
| 0–10 | 95 (47.0) | 232 (35.5) | 113 (39.4) | 440 (38.5) | |
| 11–50 | 51 (25.2) | 209 (32.0) | 81 (28.2) | 341 (29.8) | |
| 51≤ | 56 (27.7) | 213 (32.6) | 93 (32.4) | 362 (31.7) | |
| Number of fellow townsmen known in Guangzhou | < 0.001bc | ||||
| 0–10 | 94 (47.7) | 302 (47.6) | 186 (65.5) | 582 (52.2) | |
| 11–50 | 49 (24.9) | 193 (30.4) | 65 (22.9) | 307 (27.5) | |
| 51≤ | 54 (27.4) | 140 (22.0) | 33 (11.6) | 227 (20.3) | |
| Participation in hometown associations/the Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou | 0.061 | ||||
| No | 156 (77.2) | 529 (82.1) | 243 (85.6) | 928 (82.1) | |
| Yes | 46 (22.8) | 115 (17.9) | 41 (14.4) | 202 (17.9) | |
| Health status and perception of health services | |||||
| Perceived health status | < 0.001ab | ||||
| Poor or fair | 13 (6.5) | 65 (9.9) | 41 (14.2) | 119 (10.4) | |
| Good | 64 (31.8) | 274 (41.9) | 117 (40.6) | 455 (39.8) | |
| Very good | 124 (61.7) | 315 (48.2) | 130 (45.1) | 569 (49.8) | |
| Change in health status since coming to China | < 0.001abc | ||||
| Became less healthy | 15 (7.5) | 115 (17.6) | 57 (19.8) | 187 (16.4) | |
| No change | 135 (67.2) | 412 (63.1) | 204 (70.8) | 751 (65.8) | |
| Became healthier | 51 (25.4) | 126 (19.3) | 27 (9.4) | 204 (17.9) | |
| Ever had health problems in China | < 0.001ac | ||||
| No/first time to China | 182 (89.2) | 513 (78.9) | 207 (71.9) | 902 (79.0) | |
| Yes | 22 (10.8) | 137 (21.1) | 81 (28.1) | 240 (21.0) | |
| Had medical insurance while staying in China | < 0.001bc | ||||
| No | 117 (57.6) | 331 (51.4) | 108 (37.8) | 556 (49.1) | |
| Yes | 68 (33.5) | 204 (31.7) | 150 (52.4) | 422 (37.2) | |
| Don’t know | 18 (8.9) | 109 (16.9) | 28 (9.8) | 155 (13.7) | |
| Overall perception of health services in China | < 0.001bc | ||||
| Poor | 14 (7.0) | 57 (8.9) | 63 (22.8) | 134 (12.0) | |
| Fair (not good or bad) | 78 (39.0) | 278 (43.4) | 146 (52.9) | 502 (45.0) | |
| Good | 108 (54.0) | 305 (47.7) | 67 (24.3) | 480 (43.0) | |
aDifferences between participants from LICs and those from MICs were statistically significant
bDifferences between participants from MICs and those from HICs were statistically significant
cDifferences between participants from LICs and those from HICs were statistically significant