Language proficiency, gender and self-reported health: An analysis of the first two waves of the longitudinal survey of immigrants to Canada

Canadian Journal of Public Health

Volumn 99, Issue 6, 2008, Pages 505-510

  Pottie, Kevin ^a,b   Ng, Edward ^c   Spitzer, Denise ^b,d   Mohammed, Alia ^b   Glazier, Richard ^e,f,g  

^a The CT Lamont Centre for Primary Care Research   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA   (Canada)

^c STATISTICS CANADA   (Canada)

^d Institute of Population Health   (Canada)

^e UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO   (Canada)

^f ST MICHAEL'S HOSPITAL   (Canada)

^g UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO   (Canada)

Author keywords

Gender; Immigrants and refugees; Language proficiency; Self reported health

Indexed keywords

EID: 58149512393     PISSN: 00084263     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/bf03403786     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. Gushulak BD, Williams LS. National immigrant health policy: Existing policy, changing needs, and future directions. Can J Public Health 2004;95(3):127-129.
2. DesMeules M, Gold J, Kazanjian A, Manuel D, Payne J, Vissandjee B, et al. New approaches to immigrant health assessment. Can J Public Health 2004;95(3):122-126.
3. Ng E, Wilkins R, Gendron F, Berthelot JM. Dynamics of Immigrants' Health in Canada: Evidence from the National Population Health Survey. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2005;82-618.
4. Vissandjee B, DesMeules M, Cao Z, Abdool S, Kazanjian A. Integrating ethnicity and immigration as determinants of Canadian women's health. Women's Health Surveillance Report. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2004.
5. Newbold KB, Danforth J. Health status and Canada's immigrant population. Soc Sci Med 2003;57(10):1981-95.
6. Gagnon A. Responsiveness of the Canadian Health Care System Towards Newcomers. Paper # 40. Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada (Romanow Commission), 2002.
7. Angell SY, Cetron MS. Health disparities among travelers visiting friends and relatives abroad. Ann Intern Med 2005;142(1):67-72.
8. Hyman I. Health Policy Working Paper Series. Ottawa: Health Canada, 2001.
9. Anderson J, Kirkham RS. Constructing nation: The gendering and racialization of the Canadian health care system. In: Strong-Boag V, Grace S, Eisenberg A, Anderson J (Eds.), Painting the Maple: Essays on Race, Gender and the Constructions of Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998;242-61.
10. Kelaher M, William G, Manderson L. Towards evidence-based health promotion and service provision for new migrants to Australia. Ethnicity and Health 1999;4(4):305-13.
11. Stewart M, Anderson J, Beiser M, Neufeld A, Spitzer D. Weaving Together Social Support and Health in a Multicultural Context. Edmonton, Report to SSHRC. Social Support Research Program, 2003.
12. Young D, Spitzer D. Understanding the Health Care Needs of Canadian Immigrants. Report to the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration, 1999.
13. Bauder H. 'Brain abuse' of the devaluation of immigrant labour in Canada. Antipode 2003;35(4):699-717.
14. Patience E. The racialization of gender in the social construction of immigrant women in Canada: A case study of African women in a prairie province. Canadian Women Studies 1999;19(3):38.
15. Spitzer DL. Immigrant and refugee women: Recreating meaning in transnational context. Anthropology in Action 2007;14(1/2):52-62.
16. Chard J, Badets J, Howatson-Leo L. Immigrant Women. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Women in Canada: A Gender-Based Statistical Report, 2000;189-214.
17. Spitzer D. Engendering health disparities. Can J Public Health 2005;96(Suppl 2):S78-S96.
18. Statistics Canada. Portrait of the Canadian population in 2006, 2006 census. Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2007; 97-550-XIE.
19. Chiu T. Longitudinal survey of immigrants to Canada: Process, progress and prospects. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2003; 89-611 -XIE.
20. Simich L, Beiser M, Mawani F. Social support and the significance of shared experiences in refugee migration and resettlement. Western J Nurs Res 2003;25(7):872-91.
21. Spitzer DL. Policy (in)action: Policy-making, health and migrant women. In: Agnew V (Ed.), Migrant Women's Quest for Social Justice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, In press.
22. Chen J, Wilkins R, Ng E. Health expectancy by immigrant status, 1986 and 1991. Health Reports 1996;8(3):29-38.
23. Dunn JR, Dyck I. Social determinants of health in Canada's immigrant population: Results from the National Population Health Survey. Soc Sci Med 2000;51:1573-93.
24. McDonald JT, Kennedy S. Insights into the 'healthy immigrant effect': Health status and health service use of immigrants to Canada. Soc Sci Med 2004;59(8):1613-27.
25. Hoeymans N, Feskens E, Kromhout D, Van Den Bos G. Ageing and the relationship between functional status and self-rated health in elderly men. Soc Sci Med 1997;45(1):1527-36.
26. Miilunpalo S, Vuori I, Oja P, Pasanen M, Urponen H. Self-rated health status as a health measure: The predictive value of self-reported health status on the use of physician services and on mortality in the working-age population J Clin Epidemiol 1997;50(5):517-28.
27. Chiswick BR, Lee YL, Miller PW. Immigrant Selection Systems and Immigrant Health (September 2006). IZA Discussion Paper No. 2345. Available online at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=937883 (Accessed April 3, 2008).
28. Stewart M, Neufeld A, Harrison MJ, Spitzer D, Hughes K, Makwarimba E. Immigrant women family caregivers in Canada: Implications for policies and programs in health and social sectors. J Health Soc Care Community 2006;14(4):329-40.
29. Karliner LS, Jacobs EA, Chen AH, Mutha S. Do professional interpreters improve clinical care for patients with limited English proficiency? A systematic review of the literature. Health Serv Res 2007;42(2):727-54.
30. Nutbeam D. Health Literacy as a public health goal: A challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century. Health Prom Int 2000;15:259-67.
31. Beiser M, Hou F. Gender differences in language acquisition and employment consequences among Southeast Asian Refugees in Canada. Can Public Pol 2000;26:311-30.
32. Boyd M. Integrating gender, language and visible minority groups. In: Halli S, Driedger L (Eds.), Immigrant Canada: Demographic, Economic and Social Challenges. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999;282-306.
33. Grondin C. Knowledge of Official Languages among New Immigrants: How Important is it in the Labour Market? Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2007; Cat. no. 89-624.
34. Elabor-Idemudia P. Challenges confronting African immigrant women in the Canadian workforce. In: Dei GS, Calliste A (Eds.), Anti-Racist Feminism: Critical Reader in Race and Gender Studies. Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing, 2000;91-110.