1996/97 PCERII Funded Research Abstract
Research Title: Understanding the Health Care Needs of Canadian Immigrants
Research Team:
Research Domain(s): Citizenship and Culture
Since 1980, Alberta has been the destination of over 10% of Canada’s new immigrants. More than 40% of those immigrants have settled in the Edmonton area (Alberta Career and Economic Development 1992). Both voluntary and involuntary immigrants confront the challenge of adapting to changes in socio-economic status, housing, diet and self-esteem. The way this challenge is met has a significant impact upon health and sense of well-being - factors that affect the ability of immigrant individuals and communities to successfully integrate into Canadian society.
This study will examine the adaptive strategies of selected immigrant groups in the Edmonton area, and how these strategies affect their health. The research also will document the barriers immigrants encounter in accessing health services, and suggest programmes and policies that promote improvements to the health status of immigrant individuals and communities.
The study will be conducted over a two-year period. In the first year, we will focus on documenting the adaptive strategies, and the health implications of these strategies of three immigrant groups in the Edmonton area: Chinese, Chilean, and Somali. These communities have been selected to represent a range of geographical areas, community sizes, and differing degrees of integration and establishment in the Edmonton area. Topics to be investigated through in-depth interviews will include what new immigrants see as the main challenges facing them, how they cope with these challenges, and how they assess the effectiveness of their coping strategies. Of particular interest will be immigrants’ perceptions of how their new lifestyles are affecting their health; their health-related beliefs and practices; how they combine ethnic and biomedical remedies and practices; their health aspirations; and the obstacles they encounter in attempting to use and interact with the biomedical establishment. In addition, information will be communities.
The study will be conducted over a two-year period. In the first year, we will focus on documenting the adaptive strategies, and the health implications of these strategies of three immigrant groups in the Edmonton area: Chinese, Chilean, and Somali. These communities have been selected to represent a range of geographical areas, community sizes, and differing degrees of integration and establishment in the Edmonton area. Topics to be investigated through in-depth interviews will include what new immigrants see as the main challenges facing them, how they cope with these challenges, and how they assess the effectiveness of their coping strategies. Of particular interest will be immigrants’ perceptions of how their new lifestyles are affecting their health; their health-related beliefs and practices; how they combine ethnic and biomedical remedies and practices; their health aspirations; and the obstacles they encounter in attempting to use and interact with the biomedical establishment. In addition, information will be collected on health status indicators such as morbidity and mortality rates, rates of admission to hospital, and rates of absenteeism from work.
The second year will focus on the practical problems — legal, political and economic — of expanding the options in the existing health care system to make it more responsive to a plural population. Examples of such options include educating biomedical personnel about the minority groups they serve and including a broader range of assessment and treatment procedures designed to better meet the needs of those accustomed to more holistic health care approaches. This phase of the research project will involve the collection of policy documents and interviewing policy makers and health care administrators. Finally, we will analyze the findings, complete a report and disseminate the results to immigrant groups, community organizations, health care institutions and policy makers. Data analysis will involve searching for factors unique to each immigrant community as well as themes which cross-cut ethnic divisions.