Acculturation and Nutritional Health of Immigrants in Canada: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Although recent immigrants to Canada are healthier than Canadian born (i.e., the Healthy Immigrant Effect), they experience a deterioration in their health status which is partly due to transitions in dietary habits. Since pathways to these transitions are under-documented, this scoping review aims to identify knowledge gaps and research priorities related to immigrant nutritional health. A total of 49 articles were retrieved and reviewed using electronic databases and a stakeholder consultation was undertaken to consolidate findings. Overall, research tends to confirm the Healthy Immigrant Effect and suggests that significant knowledge gaps in nutritional health persist, thereby creating a barrier to the advancement of health promotion and the achievement of maximum health equity. Five research priorities were identified including (1) risks and benefits associated with traditional/ethnic foods; (2) access and outreach to immigrants; (3) mechanisms and coping strategies for food security; (4) mechanisms of food choice in immigrant families; and (5) health promotion strategies that work for immigrant populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10903-013-9823-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Acculturation and dietary patterns among residents of Surinamese origin in the Netherlands: the HELIUS dietary pattern study

“…For example, while residence duration was associated with lower scores on the more traditional dietary pattern ('noodle/rice dishes and white meat') in Surinamese-origin men, the opposite was observed among residents of Asian Indian origin in the USA (26) , while others were not able to find an association between length of residence and diet (21)(22)(23) . Sanou et al found that Haitian immigrants easily undergo dietary transitions from their healthier traditional diet to a more Western diet with increasing time since migration (46) . Nevertheless, a comparison with the literature is difficult because of several methodological considerations.…”

Measuring nursing students’ cultural awareness: A cross-sectional study among three universities in southern Sweden

“…Healthcare providers and specifically nurses who are responsible for taking care of people during critical situations are among one of the most important professions who need to develop this awareness in a continuous manner to overcome the challenges that may arise from cultural clashes. [9,10] The relationship between culture and health has been fully established in previous studies that have investigated the impact of culture on health and health behaviors, such as culture and nutrition, [11,12] beliefs and health behaviors, [4] pain and culture, [13] maternity and cultural values, [4,14] and culture and communication in healthcare settings. [15,16] However, our knowledge about the level of cultural awareness among nurses, and the role of academic education in increasing the cultural awareness skills among nursing students is still limited.…”

Exploring experiences of the food environment among immigrants living in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario

“…2 The latter explanation includes the uptake of an unhealthy diet, which studies have acknowledged can be attributed to both individual (e.g., cultural food preferences, individual income) and environmental (e.g., food accessibility and availability) factors. [5][6][7] A growing body of research has focused on the role of diet in the health inequalities of immigrants. 7 Recent immigrants are two times more likely to be food insecure than the general population, 8 and are at risk of inadequate nutritional intakes.…”

“…[5][6][7] A growing body of research has focused on the role of diet in the health inequalities of immigrants. 7 Recent immigrants are two times more likely to be food insecure than the general population, 8 and are at risk of inadequate nutritional intakes. 9 Food insecurity contributes to an increased burden on the health care system 10 and may interfere with the integration of immigrants into their new environment in Canada, because it limits their opportunities to engage in an active and healthy life.…”