Evaluating health status of elderly Chinese in Boston.

There is increasing demand for measurement tools to assess health related quality of life among the Chinese elderly population in the United States. Health services questionnaires, developed largely in English, often under-represent Chinese Americans. Based on conventional mortality statistics, the public mistakenly views Chinese Americans as a "model" minority with no health problems. This general perception has masked the serious health problems among the elderly Chinese Americans. Using the newly developed Chinese version of the MOS SF-36, we aim to explore how elderly Chinese perceive their own health. Based on 219 elderly Chinese recruited in Boston, the study provided mixed results with regard to the perception of a healthy minority model. While the study subjects perceived similar or better physical health to the U.S. norm, they reported worse mental health than the U.S. norm. We explored possible explanations for this discrepancy and discussed the implications as well as directions for future research.