Research Article
Changes in International Students’ Health Care and Management
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1145/3154862.3154898, author={Charlotte Tang and Mohamed Magueramane and Robert Sierminski and Housam Eldin Mohamed}, title={Changes in International Students’ Health Care and Management}, proceedings={11th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare}, publisher={ACM}, proceedings_a={PERVASIVEHEALTH}, year={2018}, month={1}, keywords={health behavior change health belief model international student}, doi={10.1145/3154862.3154898} }- Charlotte Tang
Mohamed Magueramane
Robert Sierminski
Housam Eldin Mohamed
Year: 2018
Changes in International Students’ Health Care and Management
PERVASIVEHEALTH
ACM
DOI: 10.1145/3154862.3154898
Abstract
International students often bring along medical practices and medications from home when studying abroad, in case they become sick. Upon arrival, international students are faced with many challenges, such as cultural and language barriers, social isolation, financial difficulties, and disparities in healthcare practices. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 international students from 10 different countries to explore their health behavior change using the Health Belief Model. Our study revealed an urgent need to address the issue of self-diagnosis and self-medication, a common problem among international students. We also propose design recommendations for technologies to facilitate their healthcare information seeking and communication with health providers.