Date post: | 18-Dec-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | chrystal-chapman |
View: | 217 times |
Download: | 1 times |
Recent Research on Immigrant Health from Statistics Canada’s
Population Surveys
Jennifer Ali
Statistics Canada
How do immigrants fare in comparison with people born in
Canada on health and health-related indicators?
• Immigrants relatively small proportion of population (16% of population)
• Need large study for comparisons
• Statistics Canada: suitable large-scale data
Immigrant Research Using Statistics Canada Surveys
• National Population Health Survey (NPHS)– 17, 605 respondents age 12 and over (1994/95)– cross-sectional and longitudinal components
• Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)– over 131,000 respondents age 15 and over
(cycle 1.1)
Other Surveys
• Canada’s Alcohol and Other Drug Survey (CADS)
• National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY)
• Health and Activity Limitations Survey (HALS)
• General Social Surveys (GSS)• Administrative data
Health Indicators Studied
• Physical health
• Mental health
• Health behaviors, determinants of health
• Health service utilization
Trends in Findings across Studies
• Healthy immigrant effect: In general, immigrants are either the same as Canadian-born or are healthier, have better health behaviors and use services less.
• Variation among immigrants: – Gradient with duration in Canada– Findings most applicable to Non-European
immigrants
Figure 1
Data Source: 2000/01 Canadian Community Health Survey
Claudio Perez. Health Status and Heath Behaviour among Immigrants. Supplement to Health Reports (Statistics Canada, Catalogue 82-003) 2002: 13: 89-100.
* Significantly different from the reference category (p < 0.05
Figure 2
Data Source: 2000/0 Canadian Community Health Survey
Jennifer Ali. Mental Health of Canada’s Immigrants. Supplement to Health Reports (Statistics Canada, Catalogue 82-003) 2002: 13: 101-111.
Figure 3
Data Source: 2000/01 Canadian Community Health Survey
Jennifer Ali. Mental Health of Canada’s Immigrants. Supplement to Health Reports (Statistics Canada, Catalogue 82-003) 2002: 13: 101-111.
What do these studies tell us about immigrant health?
• Cross-sectional patterns with representative samples: benchmarks established
• Variation among immigrants important for health
Limitations and Future Research
• Cohort effects likely– Processes of acculturation and change not
studied– Focused longitudinal studies needed
• Further examine subgroups among immigrants (e.g. refugees)