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ABSTRACTThis paper uses an intersectionality theoretical lens to interrogate selected findings of a scoping review of published and grey literature on the health and health-care access of ethnocultural minority older adults. Our focus was on Canada and countries with similar immigrant populations and health-care systems. Approximately 3,300 source documents were reviewed covering the period 1980–2010: 816 met the eligibility criteria; 183 were Canadian. Summarised findings were presented to groups of older adults and care providers for critical review and discussion. Here we discuss the extent to which the literature accounts for the complexity of categories such as culture and ethnicity, recognises the compounding effects of multiple intersections of inequity that include social determinants of health as well as the specificities of immigration, and places the experience of those inequities within the context of systemic oppression. We found that Canada's two largest immigrant groups – Chinese and South Asians – had the highest representation in Canadian literature but, even for these groups, many topics remain unexplored and the heterogeneity within them is inadequately captured. Some qualitative literature, particularly in the health promotion and cultural competency domains, essentialises culture at the expense of other determinants and barriers, whereas the quantitative literature suffers from oversimplification of variables and their effects often due to the absence of proportionally representative data that captures the complexity of experience in minority groups.

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Neglect of the mouth can lead to impairment, disability, and discomfort; as a result, it can have a negative impact on quality of life in old age. Some minority groups in North America shoulder a disproportionate burden of dental impairment compared to people of European origins, possibly because of different cultural beliefs and a distrust of Western oral healthcare. This paper explores these factors in elderly Chinese immigrants through a meta-synthesis of selected literature that reveals a dynamic interplay of traditional Chinese beliefs about oral health, immigration, and structural factors mediating access to Western dentistry. It also identifies several conceptual issues and gaps in knowledge, offers avenues of research including the cross-cultural application of two recent models of oral health, and discusses various strategies for improving access to dental services for minority populations.

Alcohol drinkers have a higher HDL-cholesterol level and lower LDL-cholesterol level than non-drinkers. This anti-atherogenic lipid profile in alcohol drinkers may be explained by the effect of alcohol on serum lipids independent of age, BMI and smoking.

The current study examines self-rated health status and functional health differences between first-generation immigrant and Canadian-born (CB) persons who share the same ethnocultural origin, and the extent to which such differences reflect social structural and health-related behavioural contexts. Multivariate analyses of data from the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey indicate that first-generation immigrants of Black and French ethnicity tend to have better health than their CB counterparts, while the opposite is true for those of South Asian and Chinese origins, providing evidence that for these groups, immigrant status matters. West Asians and Arabs and other Asian groups are advantaged in health regardless of country of birth. Health differences between ethnic foreign-born and CB persons generally converge after controlling for sociodemographic, socioeconomic status (SES), and lifestyle factors. Analysis of the data does however reveal extensive ethnocultural disparities in self-rated and functional health within both the immigrant and CB populations. Implications for health care policy and programme development are discussed.

Purpose Canada’s visible minority population is increasing rapidly, yet despite the demographic significance of this population, there is a surprising dearth of nationally representative health data on visible minorities. This is a major challenge to undertaking research on the health of this group, particularly in the context of investigating racial/ethnic disparities and health disadvantages that are rooted in racialization. The purpose of this paper is to summarize: mortality and morbidity patterns for visible minorities; determinants of visible minority health; health status and determinants of the health of visible minority older adults (VMOA); and promising data sources that may be used to examine visible minority health in future research. Design/methodology/approach A scoping review of 99 studies or publications published between 1978 and 2014 (abstracts of 72 and full articles of 27) was conducted to summarize data and research findings on visible minority health to answer four specific questions: what is known about the morbidity and mortality patterns of visible minorities relative to white Canadians? What is known about the determinants of visible minority health? What is known about the health status of VMOA, a growing segment of Canada’s aging population, and how does this compare with white older adults? And finally, what data sources have been used to study visible minority health? Findings There is indeed a major gap in health data and research on visible minorities in Canada. Further, many studies failed to distinguish between immigrants and Canadian-born visible minorities, thus conflating effects of racial status with those of immigrant status on health. The VMOA population is even more invisible in health data and research. The most promising data set appears to be the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Originality/value This paper makes an important contribution by providing a comprehensive overview of the nature, extent, and range of data and research available on the health of visible minorities in Canada. The authors make two key recommendations: first, over-sampling visible minorities in standard health surveys such as the CCHS, or conducting targeted health surveys of visible minorities. Surveys should collect information on key socio-demographic characteristics such as nativity, ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, and age-at-arrival for immigrants. Second, researchers should consider an intersectionality approach that takes into account the multiple factors that may affect a visible minority person’s health, including the role of discrimination based on racial status, immigrant characteristics for foreign-born visible minorities, age and the role of ageism for older adults, socioeconomic status, gender (for visible minority women), and geographic place or residence in their analyses.

Abstract:Background: Population aging and longevity in the context of declining social commitments, raises concerns about disadvantage and widening inequality in late life. Objective: This paper explores the usefulness of the concept of precarity for understanding new and sustained forms of risk and vulnerability in late life. Method/Approach: The article reviews the definition of precarity, its uses in a range of scholarly fields including social gerontology, and argues that the concept be extended into considerations of aging and late life. Analysis: We argue that a broadened lens of precarity that is inclusive of aging, time, and care, can be used to situate risk in the economic and political context. Further, that doing so, challenges individual notions of risk, and demonstrates how vulnerabilities not only accumulate, but change at the moment of needing care, in the context of austerity. Discussion/Implications: We conclude that contemporary conditions of austerity and longevity intersect to produce and sustain risk and disadvantage into late life. The concept of precarity thus holds potential to draw attention to disadvantage carried into late life, and render visible new forms of vulnerability that affect late life. Highlights (for Journal of Aging Studies):• Reviews definition and key uses of precarity • Explores the potential of the concept of precarity at three locations • Argues for the extension of precarity into late life • Suggests that precarity is different as a result of care in the context of austerity