A comparison of healthcare service for international students in United States and United Kingdom: A perspective of institutional complexity

Abstract

As newcomers to the host country, international students face unique challenges when it comes to the healthcare service, such as the language barrier. The challenges lead to a low utilization rate of the healthcare service in the population of international student. This paper aims to find out the main reason behind the phenomenon and explore how to improve the health and welfare of the international students. A nested case study approach is used and the United States and the United Kingdom are the two countries for comparison. We found that benefiting from a simpler system, international students in the UK enjoy superior healthcare access compared to their counterparts in the US. It is recommended that UK and the US should prioritize comprehensive healthcare orientation programs, ensuring students are well-informed about accessing and navigating their respective systems.