Hesitation to Seek Healthcare Among Immigrants in a Restrictive State Context

Elizabeth Aranda (), Liz Ventura Molina, Elizabeth Vaquera, Emely Matos Pichardo and Osaro Iyamu
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Elizabeth Aranda: Immigrant Well-Being Research Center, Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa Campus, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CPR 107, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
Liz Ventura Molina: Immigrant Well-Being Research Center, Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa Campus, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CPR 107, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
Elizabeth Vaquera: Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute, Department of Sociology, The George Washington University, 2114 G St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
Emely Matos Pichardo: Immigrant Well-Being Research Center, Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa Campus, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CPR 107, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
Osaro Iyamu: Immigrant Well-Being Research Center, Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa Campus, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CPR 107, Tampa, FL 33620, USA

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: This article focuses on how rising nativism, manifested through immigrants’ experiences of everyday discrimination, and Florida’s legal context (ascertained through immigrants’ fears of deportation), are related to immigrants’ hesitation when seeking healthcare services. Hesitation to seek healthcare, or healthcare hesitancy, is examined in the context of Florida’s SB1718, a law passed in 2023 that criminalized many aspects of being an immigrant. Based on a survey of 466 Florida immigrants and U.S. citizen adult children of immigrants, logistic regression analysis reveals that everyday experiences with discrimination are associated with a reluctance to seek healthcare services among this population. In particular, those with insecure legal immigrant status (i.e., undocumented and temporary statuses), those with financial hardship, and women demonstrate reluctance to engage with healthcare systems when controlling for other sociodemographic factors. Findings from this study exemplify how immigration policies that restrict access to healthcare and social services not only create logistical barriers to seeking care but also foster a climate of fear and exclusion that deters even those with legal status from seeking medical attention.

Keywords: healthcare hesitation; immigration policy; discrimination; deportation fear; legal status; health disparities; intersectionality; nativism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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