1. Primary Health Care Needs of Uninsured Chinese Migrants in Vienna, Austria: A Descriptive Study of 74 Outpatient Data from 2015
1st World Congress on Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Health
Edinburgh, 17th-19th May 2018
Yuki Seidler, Sonja Novak-Zezula and Ursula Trummer

2. Background
Chinese – minority but a growing population group in Austria
17,000 officially registered in 2018
The largest Asian population group
Rapidly growing (doubled since 2002)
58% female
More than 60% lives in Vienna
88% in the working age (18-64 yrs)
Additional 13,000 irregular Chinese migrants (est.)
Source: Zhao 2010; Statistik Austria 2018
Pop. Austria: 8.8 Mio (2018).
Chinese = people born in China
“Asian”: excluding migrants from Afghanistan, Syrians and Iran
Hardly anything is known of the health of irregular Chinese migrants.

3. Study Overview
Aim: To gain insights into the health problems and primary healthcare needs of uninsured Chinese migrants in Vienna
Data: complete patients’ records of uninsured Chinese
Provided by a Vienna-based NGO
Verbal consent
Data collection period: 1. May July 2015
Survey period: 2008 to 2015 (for each patient starting from the first visit)
Chinese = self-declared of having a Chinese origin (not place of birth or nationality).
All patients who visited the NGO between May and July 2015

4. Sample population: N=74 Female: 62% (n=46); Male 38 % (n=28)
Language skills (%; N=63)
Age structure by sex (%)
More female than male visiting. Corresponds to the fact that there are more female Chinese than male in Vienna. Main age group years. Min. 24 max 67 year old. Hardly any young or very old patients. No children or infants.
Almost 90% of the patients spoke no or hardly any German or English. No big differences between female and male in terms of language skills. The NGO has a Chinese interpreter that accompany the patients. Nevertheless, in 10 of the patients records severe difficulties in language barriers were recorded by the doctors. Difficulties in treatment compliance were also recorded.

5. Service utlisation Year of first visit
Number of visits per patients per year
Average 3.7 times (Min.1; Max. 21)
Number of identified health problems
Average 5.7 per patient (Min. 1; Max. 21)
Majority of the patients visited the NGO during the study period for the first time. Nevertheless, there are many patients who have been visiting the NGO over many years. One patient has been visiting the NGO regularly over 7 years. Average number of visit 3.7 time per patients per year. As many patients come over the several years, their health problems are quite multifold. Some of these health problems are interrelated such as hypertension and diabetics but some are not related – such as tooth problems or back pain.

6. Top health problems ♀: disease category
Female
Large diagnostic category. The percentage shows the frequency of how many woman were diagnosed within this diagnostic category (counted only once even she had multiple-diagnosed within on category). Two are related to women-specific needs. Only three cases of pregnancy. Most consultations related to menstruation problems and complications with IUD that have been done in China and has not been removed for a long time. Consultations related to suspected cases of breast cancer was also high.

7. ♀: by diagnoses
Female
Three of the top five health problems by single disease diagnosis of female included metabolic and cardiovascular related diseases – namely high blood pressure, diabetics type II and high cholesterol that needs long-term care. NOTE: Rashes are found on neck, leg, face and not always hand so we cannot conclude that they are occupational health problems such as washing dishes.

8. Top health problems ♂: disease category
Male

9. ♂: by diagnoses
Male
Surprisingly high percentage of male visited the NGO due to toothache and caries. % of hypertension as high as female but much higher rates of diabetics. The other two are related to musculoskeletal which could be related to their occupation. Problems with treatment compliance were reported in 10 patients cases of which 9 were main. Male seems to have more problems in treatment compliance (that is not related to language skill).
Very high % of symptoms that are hard to diagnose such as headache and stomach ache – 50% in both sex.

10. Mental health problems
15%♀ & 21% ♂ in overall disease category
Although not in the top main disease category, mental health problems are high in both sexes. 15 and 21%, respectively. Similar percentage of female and male suffer from certain mental health problems.

11. Conclusion/Discussion
Undocumented Chinese community in Vienna; evidence about this community is scarce
Data indicate: working age, more than 50% longer than one year; low language skills,
Priority healthcare needs differ between female and male but prevention/treatment needs for hypertention and diabetics II high in both sex
These are preventable, related to poverty and quite likely to the occupation this population group holds. Mental stress could be high especially if being an irregular migrant for a long time.

12. Reference
Zhao, Mingnan. „Die chinesische Community in Österreich.“ In ÖIF (Österreichischer Integrationsfonds)-Dossier, no.10, 2010,
STATISTIK AUSTRIA, Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland [Population by nationality and place of birth] hoerigkeit_geburtsland/index.html