IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v70y2010i8p1219-1228.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

"My health has improved because I always have everything I need here...": A qualitative exploration of health improvement and decline among immigrants

Author

Listed:
  • Dean, Jennifer Asanin
  • Wilson, Kathi

Abstract

Immigrants in Canada constitute approximately 20% of the total population and will continue to account for a significant portion of the country's population in the future. Accordingly, a growing body of research has focused on examining the disparity in health status between the increasing foreign-born and the Canadian-born populations. The healthy immigrant effect, in particular, acknowledges that immigrants have better health status than their Canadian-born counterparts upon arrival in the country. However, studies have shown that over time the health of immigrants declines to a level on par with the Canadian-born population. There is much speculation as to the reasons for this decline including acculturation (i.e., uptake of unhealthy lifestyles) and a lack of access to health care. Yet, there have been few studies to examine possible reasons for potential declines in health, especially from the perspective of immigrants themselves. This study is one of the first to qualitatively examine perceived changes in health status and reasons for health status change among immigrants. The paper presents the results of 23 in-depth interviews with adults with recent (less than 3 years of residency), mid-term (3-10 years), and long-term (more than 10 years) immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area. The results reveal that the majority of the participants believed their health had remained stable or even improved over time due to improved living standards and lifestyle behaviours in Canada. Those who perceived their health to have worsened over time attributed the change to the stress associated with migration, and the aging process rather than the adoption of an unhealthy lifestyle. Additionally, while the vast majority of participants reported improved access to resources upon migration, there were mixed reviews in terms of how beneficial these resources were or could be for health. The findings highlight the need for research to incorporate mental health into studies on changing immigrant health status and to focus on those factors contributing to high levels of stress among more recent immigrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Dean, Jennifer Asanin & Wilson, Kathi, 2010. ""My health has improved because I always have everything I need here...": A qualitative exploration of health improvement and decline among immigrants," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1219-1228, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:8:p:1219-1228
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(10)00078-X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Salant, Talya & Lauderdale, Diane S., 2003. "Measuring culture: a critical review of acculturation and health in Asian immigrant populations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 71-90, July.
    2. Mireille Laroche, 2000. "Health Status and Health Services Utilization of Canada's Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Populations," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 26(1), pages 51-75, March.
    3. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard, 2006. "Unhealthy assimilation: Why do immigrants converge to American health status levels?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(2), pages 337-360, May.
    4. Asanin, Jennifer & Wilson, Kathi, 2008. ""I spent nine years looking for a doctor": Exploring access to health care among immigrants in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(6), pages 1271-1283, March.
    5. Dunn, James R. & Dyck, Isabel, 2000. "Social determinants of health in Canada's immigrant population: results from the National Population Health Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(11), pages 1573-1593, December.
    6. Deri, Catherine, 2005. "Social networks and health service utilization," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 1076-1107, November.
    7. Bruce Newbold, K., 2005. "Self-rated health within the Canadian immigrant population: risk and the healthy immigrant effect," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 1359-1370, March.
    8. Meadows, Lynn M. & Thurston, Wilfreda E. & Melton, Christina, 2001. "Immigrant women's health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(9), pages 1451-1458, May.
    9. McDonald, James Ted & Kennedy, Steven, 2004. "Insights into the 'healthy immigrant effect': health status and health service use of immigrants to Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(8), pages 1613-1627, October.
    10. Lasser, K.E. & Himmelstein, D.U. & Woolhandler, S., 2006. "Access to care, health status, and health disparities in the United States and Canada: Results of a Cross-National Population Based Survey," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(7), pages 1300-1307.
    11. Bruce Newbold, K. & Danforth, Jeff, 2003. "Health status and Canada's immigrant population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(10), pages 1981-1995, November.
    12. Nicholas Biddle & Steven Kennedy & James Ted Mcdonald, 2007. "Health Assimilation Patterns Amongst Australian Immigrants," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 83(260), pages 16-30, March.
    13. Steven Kennedy & James Ted McDonald & Nicholas Biddle, 2006. "The Healthy Immigrant Effect and Immigrant Selection: Evidence from Four Countries," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 164, McMaster University.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lum, Irene D. & Swartz, Rebecca H. & Kwan, Matthew Y.W., 2016. "Accessibility and use of primary healthcare for immigrants living in the Niagara Region," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 73-79.
    2. Tehzeeb Zulfiqar & Lyndall Strazdins & Cathy Banwell, 2021. "How to Fit In? Acculturation and Risk of Overweight and Obesity. Experiences of Australian Immigrant Mothers From South Asia and Their 8- to 11-Year-Old Children," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    3. Merryn Maynard & Jennifer Dean & Paulina I. Rodriguez & Gobika Sriranganathan & Mona Qutub & Sharon I. Kirkpatrick, 2019. "The Experience of Food Insecurity Among Immigrants: a Scoping Review," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 375-417, May.
    4. Lorenzo Tarsitani & Massimo Pasquini & Annalisa Maraone & Maria Paola Zerella & Isabella Berardelli & Roberta Giordani & Gian Marco Polselli & Massimo Biondi, 2013. "Acute psychiatric treatment and the use of physical restraint in first-generation immigrants in Italy: A prospective concurrent study," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 59(6), pages 613-618, September.
    5. Edge, Sara & Newbold, K. Bruce & McKeary, Marie, 2014. "Exploring socio-cultural factors that mediate, facilitate, & constrain the health and empowerment of refugee youth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 34-41.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James Ted McDonald, 2005. "The Health Behaviors of Immigrants and Native-born People in Canada," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 144, McMaster University.
    2. Santosh Jatrana & Ken Richardson & Samba Siva Rao Pasupuleti, 2018. "Investigating the Dynamics of Migration and Health in Australia: A Longitudinal Study," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(4), pages 519-565, October.
    3. Rivera, Berta & Casal, Bruno & Currais, Luis, 2013. "Healthy Immigrant Effect: Trayectoria de salud de la población inmigrante a partir de la ENSE 2011-2012/Healthy Immigrant Effect: An Empirical Approach to the Health Trajectory of Immigrant Population," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 31, pages 339-358, Septiembr.
    4. Antonio Fidalgo & Alberto Holly & Marco Pecoraro & Philippe Wanner, 2016. "A nonparametric analysis of the healthy immigrant effect," IRENE Working Papers 16-15, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    5. Ade Kearns & Elise Whitley & Matt Egan & Catherine Tabbner & Carol Tannahill, 2017. "Healthy Migrants in an Unhealthy City? The Effects of Time on the Health of Migrants Living in Deprived Areas of Glasgow," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 675-698, August.
    6. Steven Kennedy & James Ted McDonald & Nicholas Biddle, 2006. "The Healthy Immigrant Effect and Immigrant Selection: Evidence from Four Countries," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 164, McMaster University.
    7. Sara Rellstab & Marco Pecoraro & Alberto Holly & Philippe Wanner & Karine Renard, 2016. "The Migrant Health Gap and the Role of Labour Market Status: Evidence from Switzerland," IRENE Working Papers 16-14, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    8. Steven Kennedy & Michael P. Kidd & James Ted McDonald & Nicholas Biddle, 2015. "The Healthy Immigrant Effect: Patterns and Evidence from Four Countries," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 317-332, May.
    9. Asanin, Jennifer & Wilson, Kathi, 2008. ""I spent nine years looking for a doctor": Exploring access to health care among immigrants in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(6), pages 1271-1283, March.
    10. Monika Sander, 2007. "Return Migration and the "Healthy Immigrant Effect"," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 60, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    11. Jatrana, Santosh & Pasupuleti, Samba Siva Rao & Richardson, Ken, 2014. "Nativity, duration of residence and chronic health conditions in Australia: Do trends converge towards the native-born population?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 53-63.
    12. Hamilton, Tod G. & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2013. "Changes in income inequality and the health of immigrants," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 57-66.
    13. Yuriy Pylypchuk & Julie Hudson, 2009. "Immigrants and the use of preventive care in the United States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(7), pages 783-806, July.
    14. Frank Trovato, 2020. "The Immigrant Mortality Advantage in Canada, 2001 and 2011," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 351-379, June.
    15. Monika Sander, 2008. "Changes in Immigrants' Body Mass Index with Their Duration of Residence in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 122, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    16. Zaiceva, A. & Zimmermann, K.F., 2016. "Migration and the Demographic Shift," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 119-177, Elsevier.
    17. Rennie Lee & Laxman Bablani, 2023. "Do Asian Immigrants Have Better Mental Health? An Examination of Arrival Cohort and Gender in Australia," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(3), pages 1-29, June.
    18. Janisch, Laura M., 2017. "Mental health assimilation of Australian immigrants," Ruhr Economic Papers 728, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    19. Wang, Lu & Hu, Wei, 2013. "Immigrant health, place effect and regional disparities in Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 8-17.
    20. Acevedo-Garcia, Dolores & Bates, Lisa M. & Osypuk, Theresa L. & McArdle, Nancy, 2010. "The effect of immigrant generation and duration on self-rated health among US adults 2003-2007," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(6), pages 1161-1172, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:8:p:1219-1228. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.