Limited English proficiency is a unique vulnerability of older immigrants in the United States that poses significant risks to health and healthcare.

Associate professor Yuri Jang has received a grant from the National Institute on Aging to study how social connectedness and neighborhood characteristics such as ethnic density influence the health and healthcare of older Korean American immigrants, a group that manifest marked disparities in these areas.

The study employs an innovative methodology that mixes Social Network Analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS), and focuses on communities in New York, Texas, and Florida. Study results will identify factors at the individual and community levels that could be used in health planning and in the development of effective interventions to reduce language barriers and ensure access to appropriate health services for diverse immigrant populations.