Health Decline Among Recent Immigrants to Canada: Findings From a Nationally-representative Longitudinal Survey

Abstract

Immigrants form a significant and growing proportion of the Canadian population. In 2006, there were more than 6 million immigrants living in Canada, making up almost 20% of the population. Each year, Canada accepts about 200,000 new immigrants, a number which represents 0.7% of its total population. 1 Recent immigrants to Canada tend to be in better health than the nativeborn population. 2 This phenomenon, known as the 'healthy immigrant effect', is a result of immigrants having better health habits in their countries of origin; a positive self-selection effect where healthier people are more likely to apply for immigration; and the selection policies of Citizenship and Immigration Canada whereby immigrants with serious health problems are rejected. 2,3 Many studies have suggested, however, that immigrants' health tends to decline following arrival in Canada. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The majority of studies on immigrant health used cross-sectional data, comparing the health status of successive waves of immigrants at one point in time. This design is vulnerable to cohort effects. Ng and colleagues' 4 longitudinal analysis of self-reported health indicated that non-European recent immigrants experienced a greater decline in health status than did individuals born in Canada. However, sample size restrictions prohibited detailed analysis of which factors were associated with health decline among immigrants. The current study used the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC), a large, prospective nationallyrepresentative population survey of new immigrants, to investigate baseline factors predicting health decline among immigrants four years after arriving in Canada. In addition to demographic predictors, we also assess the experience of discrimination and the effects of social networks on health decline. Perceived discrimination has been associated with lower self-reported health. 9 The role of social networks in the settlement and adaptation of immigrants has been well documented. [10][11][12][13] METHODSThe Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) was jointly conducted by Statistics Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to learn more about how new immigrants adapt to life in Canada. 14 The target population was immigrants aged 15 or older who arrived in Canada from abroad between October 2000 and September 2001. Survey respondents were selected from CIC's

A qualitative study on African immigrant and refugee families’ experiences of accessing primary health care services in Manitoba, Canada: it’s not easy!

“…Unlike other low socioeconomic class Canadians, immigrant and refugee families face additional challenges of being new to the country. Some arrive in Canada after experiencing a difficult migration journey that may include living in refugee camps and experiencing violent conflicts [3, 12–18]. As newcomers, immigrant and refugee families often have to start life from nothing and find themselves at disadvantaged social positions on matters such as race/ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.…”

“…In 2010, 12.5% (145,700) of all immigrants arrived from Africa particularly from Algeria, Morocco, and Nigeria [1]. After settling in Canada, immigrants and refugees often experience a decline in their health status yet we know very little about African immigrants’ and refugees’ experiences of accessing health care services [2, 3]. Access to health care involves a fit between the client and health care system where the client identifies health care needs, looks for health care services, reaches out, acquires, and fulfils the need for these services [4, 5].…”

“…Refugees on the other hand often arrive in poorer general health status than their immigrant counterparts [10] and often present with ill physical and mental health status [11]. Contributing to their likelihood for poor health is a difficult migration journey that may include migration from countries experiencing violent conflicts, forced migration at short notice, and living in refugee camps, along with unfavorable social determinants of health [3, 12–18]. …”

Examining Pre-migration Health Among Filipino Nurses

“…This advantage, however, has been shown to decline with time in the receiving country [5-8]. Prior research suggests a variety of reasons for this health deterioration, such as adoption of unhealthy practices [7, 9-12], stressors associated with minority status [13-15], and socioeconomic and employment struggles [16-18]. …”

Investigating the Role for a Language Coach in an English as a Second Language Literacy Class

“…Outside of the classroom, she has contributed as a curriculum developer in adult ESL health education. Her work has helped to provide educators with practical health-related curriculum aimed at combatting the rapid health decline that frequently occurs among newcomers in their first fours years after arrival in Canada (Fuller- Thomson, Noack & George, 2011). Before teaching literacy, Teacher A taught LINC 1 for several years.…”