Newly arrived immigrants seeking health care in the United States encounter several problems including language, cultural, societal, and logistic barriers.
The national physicians' strikes in South Korea in 2000 succeeded in raising public awareness of defects in the Korean medical system and the need to reconcile the government health insurance system and private doctors.
When serving an ethnically diverse population, it is imperative that physicians have an understanding of a patients' cultural background and attitudes towards health, nutrition and personal care.