Transcript Recent Research on Immigrant Health from Statistics Canada`s

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 healthrelated 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
* Significantly different from the reference category (p < 0.05
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.
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)
Limitations and Future Research
• Role of cultural differences in
understanding and reporting health
• Non-response due to language barriers
• New Survey: Longitudinal Survey of
Immigrants to Canada
– 5,800 immigrants, 3 interviews over 4 years