Health Status Of Immigrants Research Articles

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors among Adult Australian-Lebanese in Melbourne

This descriptive exploratory study reports on the prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk factors among adult Australian-Lebanese migrants living in Melbourne. This study fills a gap in extant research regarding CVD risk factors within this ethnic community in Melbourne. Problem statement: Australia’s multicultural society consists of more than 200 ethnic groups and nearly a quarter of the Australian population are born overseas. Thus, the health status of immigrants significantly affects the national health profile. Whilst the prevalence of CVD risk factors has been researched in several ethnic communities in Melbourne, it has never been studied among the Australian-Lebanese migrants living in Melbourne. Approach: A convenience sample of 200 adult Australian-Lebanese men (88) and women (112) residing permanently in Melbourne completed a structured questionnaire based on the 1989 National Heart Foundation Risk Factor Prevalence Study (NHFRFPS, 1990). Physical measurements of height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences, blood pressure and reported cholesterol levels were also obtained. Results: Subjects were aged between 20-69 years and manifested many risk factors for CVD. Lack of physical activity and increased weight were prevalent across all age groups. Hypertension increased with age and smoking was more prevalent among the Australian-Lebanese when compared with the general Australian population. Multivariate forward logistic regression analysis found that the strongest predictors of CVD risk factors were age, gender, level of education and length of residence in Australia. The most vulnerable were older men with a lower level of education who had resided in Australia for more than 10 years. Conclusion: The CVD risk factors among the Australian-Lebanese included overweight and obesity, lack of physical activity and high levels of smoking. The findings warrant further research among other Arabic speaking groups who have similar social and cultural practices. The findings demonstrate the need for culturally tailored health promotion programs aimed at reducing CVD risk behaviors among this ethnic group.

Health Care Use and the Canadian Immigrant Population

Set within the "determinants of health" framework and drawing on Statistics Canada's longitudinal National Population Health Survey, this article explores health care utilization by Canada's immigrant population. Given the observed "healthy immigrant effect", whereby the health status of immigrants at the time of arrival is high but subsequently declines and converges toward that of the native-born population, does the incidence of use of health care facilities reflect greater need for care? Similarly, does the use of health care facilities by the native- and the foreign-born differ, and if so, are these differences explained primarily by socioeconomic, sociodemographic, or lifestyle factors, which may point to problems in the Canadian health care system? This study identifies trends in the incidence of physician and hospital use, the factors that contribute to health care use, and differences in health care use between the native- and foreign-born.

IMMIGRANT SELECTION SYSTEMS AND IMMIGRANT HEALTH

This paper is an analysis of the determinants of self‐reported health status of immigrants, with a particular focus on the type of visa used to gain admission. The empirical analysis uses the three waves of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (panel I). Immigrant health is greater for immigrants who are younger, more educated, male, more proficient in English, and living outside an immigrant ethnic enclave. Immigrant health is poorest for refugees and best for independent (economic) migrants, and declines with duration in the destination. Alternative hypotheses for the decline in immigrant health with duration are explored (JEL I12, J15, J61, F22).

The Impact of Nativity on Chronic Diseases, Self-Rated Health and Comorbidity Status of Asian and Hispanic Immigrants

This study examines the physical health status of immigrants with specific considerations of Asian and Hispanic populations and explores possible mechanisms through which health outcomes of interest can be explained. Analyses of the National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) of 2000 and 2001 revealed that foreign-born individuals reported fewer chronic diseases (hypertension, heart disease, asthma, cancer and diabetes) and had lower prevalences of various chronic diseases compared with U.S.-born whites, controlling for possible confounders and mediators. However, U.S-born minority groups did not show the health advantage seen in foreign-born immigrants, reflecting the importance of nativity distinctions in studying immigrant health. Despite having fewer chronic diseases, foreign-born Asians were more likely to rate their health negatively relative to their U.S.-born counterparts and to U.S.-born whites. In addition, our findings provide evidence that failure to consider comorbid status may attenuate the nativity effect on certain chronic diseases.

Unhealthy assimilation: Why do immigrants converge to American health status levels?

It is well documented that immigrants are in better health upon arrival in the United States than their American counterparts but that this health advantage erodes over time. We study the potential determinants of this "healthy immigrant effect, " with a particular focus on the tendency of immigrants to converge to unhealthy American BMI levels. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, we find that average female and male immigrants enter the United States with BMIs that are approximately two and five percentage points lower than native-born women and men, respectively. Consistent with the declining health status of immigrants the longer they remain in the United States, we also find that female immigrants almost completely converge to American BMIs within 10 years of arrival, and men close a third of the gap within 15 years.

Immigrant Selection Systems and Immigrant Health

This paper is an analysis of the determinants of self-reported health status of immigrants, with a particular focus on type of visa used to gain admission. The concept of “health capital” and an immigrant selection and adjustment model are employed. The empirical analysis uses the three waves of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (panel I). Immigrant health is greater for immigrants who are younger, more educated, male, more proficient in English, and living outside of an immigrant ethnic enclave. Immigrant health is poorest for refugees and best for independent (economic) migrants, and declines with duration in the destination. There is, therefore, evidence for favorable selectivity on the basis of health status among family and especially independent migrants, as well as a tendency toward “regression to the mean” with duration in the destination.

Health status and health care of immigrants in Canada: a longitudinal analysis

This paper focuses upon health status, need for care, and use of health care from 1994/95 to 2000/01 in the Canadian foreign-born population. Using Statistics Canada's longitudinal National Population Health Survey, descriptive and survival analyses are used to explore immigrant health status and health care. The health status of immigrants quickly declines after arrival, with a concomitant increase in use of health care services. However, survival analysis of the risk of a change to poor health indicates no difference between immigrants and the native-born. Similarly, there is no difference in the risk of hospital use between the two populations. The health status of recent immigrant arrivals is observed to decline towards that of the native-born population, while health care utilization increases. However, increased use may not be sufficient to offset declines in health, meaning that need for health care within the immigrant population may be unmet.

Unhealthy Assimilation: Why Do Immigrants Converge to American Health Status Levels?

It is well documented that immigrants are in better health upon arrival in the United States than their American counterparts, but that this health advantage erodes over time. We study the potential determinants of this healthy immigrant effect, with a particular focus on the tendency of immigrants to converge to unhealthy American BMI levels. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, we find that the average female and male immigrants enter the U.S. with BMIs that are approximately two and five percentage points lower than native-born women and men, respectively. And, consistent with the declining health status of immigrants the longer they remain in the United States, we also find that female immigrants almost completely converge to American BMIs within ten years of arrival and men close a third of the gap within fifteen years.

Health status and Canada's immigrant population

Given the framework of the 1984 Canada Health Act, the health status of immigrants should be similar to average levels within whole of Canada. Yet, assuming equality of health status between immigrant and non-immigrants, or between immigrant groups is likely an unrealistic and simplistic assumption, given unseen barriers affecting accessibility, the restructuring of the Canadian health care system, and problems with the provision of health care resources to the immigrant population. Using the National Population Health Survey, this paper focuses upon the health status of the immigrant population relative to that of non-immigrants within Canada, with reference to diagnosed conditions, self-assessed health, and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3. Findings indicate that, with the exception of the most recent arrivals, immigrants experience worse health status across most dimensions relative to non-immigrants. Multivariate analysis reveals that age, income adequacy, gender, and home ownership are dimensions upon which health status differs between the two groups.

Health Status and Health Services Utilization of Canada's Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Populations

This paper compares the health status of immigrants and their utilization rates of health services to those of the Canadian-born population using data contained within two cycles (1985 and 1991) of the General Social Survey (GSS). Our main results show that neither the health status of immigrants nor their utilization rates of health services differ significantly from those of the Canadian-born population. When both data sets are pooled, the estimated results show that immigrants’ health status and their use of health services have remained

Oral health status of Canadian-born and immigrant adolescents in North York, Ontario.

Studies from a number of countries, including Canada, have demonstrated that the oral health status of immigrants is worse than that of their native-born counterparts and that they make less use of dental services. To date, however, little information is available which documents changes in immigrant oral health following immigration. This paper reports the results of a study conducted in the City of North York, Ontario, that examined the oral health status of Canadian-born and immigrant adolescents aged 13 and 14 years. The former had better oral health than the latter on all parameters assessed and made more use of dental services. Within the immigrant population, there was a significant association between oral health and time since immigration. Those who had been in Canada 6 or more years were significantly healthier than those who had arrived within the preceding 2 years. While changing patterns of immigration may account for part of these differences, the data suggest that access to dental public health programs, delivered to students between the ages of 4 and 14 years, have been effective in improving the oral health of those born outside Canada. Since these programs cease at age 13 or 14 years, barriers to accessing the private dental care sector may mean that the residual inequities and inequalities evident in the data widen as these individuals age.