Pathways among Frailty, Health Literacy, Acculturation, and Social Support of Middle-Aged and Older Korean Immigrants in the USA

Abstract

Culturally and linguistically different immigrants in the U.S. are considered populations with low health literacy in general, thereby having a high risk of negative health outcomes such as frailty. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of social support and acculturation on the relationship between health literacy and frailty of Korean immigrants in existing models of health literacy. A total of 244 Korean immigrants aged 50 years and older residing in Southern United States (Alabama and Georgia) were recruited. Path analysis was used to examine the pathways among variables, and the indirect effects of health literacy were analyzed. The results revealed that health literacy and social support directly influenced frailty; social support and acculturation were identified to influence health literacy. Health literacy had a partial mediating effect in the relationship between social support and frailty and a complete mediating effect in the relationship between acculturation and frailty. Therefore, to prevent frailty, it is necessary to consider enhancing immigrants’ health literacy by elevating acculturation and social supports.