Abstract
This study expands on previous research on the healthy immigrant effect (HIE) in Canada by considering the effects of both immigrant and visible minority status on self-rated health for males and females in mid-(45-64) and later life (65+). The findings reveal a strong HIE among new immigrant middle-aged men, particularly non-Whites. For older men of color the reality is strikingly different: they are disadvantaged in health compared to their Canadian-born counterparts, even when a number of demographic, economic, and lifestyle factors are controlled. Health outcomes for immigrant women are in contrast to that of immigrant men. Among middle-aged women, immigrants, regardless of their ethnicity or number of years since immigration, are much more likely to report poor health compared to the Canadian-born. And, for older women, recent non-white immigrants are more likely to report better health compared to Canadian-born women, although this finding is explained by differences in demographic, economic, and lifestyle factors. Overall, the findings demonstrate the importance of considering the intersections of age, gender, and ethnicity for policymakers in assessing the health of immigrants.
Highlights
Globerman (1998:31), in his study on the health care utilization patterns of immigrants, concludes that “age is the strongest single determinant of health problems” regardless of immigrant status; his research suggests that immigrants and the native-born utilize health care resources in similar ways at all stages of the life course including in old age [1]
The findings from this study indicate that there are differences between recent, longer-term and non-immigrants according to age on global measures of health status; there is evidence of a healthy immigrant effect (HIE) for recent immigrants in midlife (45-64 years), but not for older adults (65+ years)
Our findings show that this HIE is mainly attributable to ethnicity; that is, to the exceptionally good health of non-Whites
Summary
Globerman (1998:31), in his study on the health care utilization patterns of immigrants, concludes that “age is the strongest single determinant of health problems” regardless of immigrant status; his research suggests that immigrants and the native-born utilize health care resources in similar ways at all stages of the life course including in old age [1]. Using longitudinal data from the National Population Health Survey (1994/5-2000/01), he finds that females and young adults (aged 20-34 years) have a lower risk of declining health status relative to males and other age groups, and that Blacks have an increased likelihood of transitioning from a healthy to unhealthy state than other racial groups Such findings in the Canadian context, a developed country with the highest per capita net immigration rate in the world, provide a foundation on which to further explore the significance of these factors alone and in intersection in studies of immigrant health in other countries with rapidly growing visible minority foreign-born populations like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and to examine the policy implications of such research in the health care domain
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