Communication Infrastructure in an Asian Immigrant Community

Abstract

The health benefits of having a supportive community and access to community resources are well documented and for many immigrant communities, community-based organizations (CBOs) play an important role by providing culturally competent services. The current study uses communication infrastructure theory (CIT) to examine the associations between connections to CBOs, civic engagement, and protective health behaviors within the context of Boston Chinatown’s Chinese immigrant community. According to CIT, neighborhood communication resources encourage residents to engage in civic activities and health-related problem-solving behaviors. To assess these associations, data from a needs assessment survey (N = 360) were analyzed. Results showed that connections to CBOs had a positive association with total number of protective health behaviors. Civic engagement was not found to be associated with health behaviors. We also found no indirect effect of connections to CBOs on the protective health behaviors via civic engagement. These results carry important theoretical and practical implications.

Acknowledgments

We thank Tufts University and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center for providing data. Special thanks to Dr. Heang Leung Rubin, the project ADAPT director, for her expertise and assistance throughout all aspects of our study. 

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.