Jennifer Dean

‘Education? It is irrelevant to my job now. It makes me very depressed …’: exploring the health impacts of under/unemployment among highly skilled recent immigrants in Canada

Immigrants account for 20% of the population and 60% of total population growth in Canada (Statistics Canada 2001). The majority of immigrants are accepted for entry to Canada under the Skilled Worker Program in order to fill employment shortages in the labour market (CIC 2007). Recent research has revealed that an increasing number of immigrants who gain entry under this programme face significant barriers to employment. As a result, many remain unemployed or accept employment outside of and below their field of education and training. However, the impacts such employment circumstances have on the health of immigrants have not yet been examined. This paper presents the results of a collaborative research project that explores the health impacts of under/unemployment among skilled immigrants in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. In-depth interviews are used to examine the experiences of employment and perceptions of subsequent health impacts among 22 recent immigrants. The participants most frequently identified mental health impacts due to a lack of income, loss of employment-related skills, loss of social status and family pressures. These health concerns are also extended to family members. In addition to mental health, physical health is perceived to be affected by employment circumstances through high levels of stress and strenuous working conditions. These findings shed light on the nature of the links between employment and health relationship as well as determinants of immigrant health. Additional research is required to examine the long-term effects of under/unemployment.

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

Immigrants in Canada constitute approximately 20% of the total population and will continue to account for a significant portion of the countrys 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.

“We don’t have such a thing, that you may be allergic”: Newcomers’ understandings of food allergies in Canada

Food allergies are emerging as important public health risks in Canada, affecting 3–4% of adults and 6–7% of children. Despite much lower prevalence rates among recent immigrants (i.e. in the country less than 10 years), evidence has shown this population to be more concerned about the risks of food allergies than the general population and have unique experiences around purchasing foods for allergen-free environments. As a substantial and growing segment of the Canadian population, it is important to understand newcomers’ perceptions and knowledge of food allergies and related policies developed to protect allergic children (e.g. nut-free schools and or classrooms). This paper draws upon the results of focus groups conducted with newcomers from food allergic households (i.e. directly affected), as well as those with school-aged children who have to prepare or buy foods for allergen-controlled classrooms or schools (i.e. indirectly affected) living in Mississauga, Ontario. Results indicate unique challenges and understandings of food allergies as a new and unfamiliar risk for most newcomers, particularly as the indirectly affected participants negotiate the policy landscape. The directly affected group highlights the supportive environment in Canada resulting from the same policies and increased awareness in the general population.

Exploring experiences of the food environment among immigrants living in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario

OBJECTIVES This exploratory study aimed to shed light on the role of the food environment in shaping food access among immigrants living in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario. METHODS In this qualitative case study, in-depth interviews aided by photovoice were conducted with nine immigrants, and key informant (KI) interviews were conducted with nine community stakeholders (e.g., settlement workers, planners) who held expert knowledge of the local context with respect to both the food system and experiences of immigrants in interacting with this system. In this paper, we focus specifically on insights related to the food environment, applying the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity Framework to assess economic, physical, socio-cultural and political aspects. RESULTS Economic features of the food environment, including food prices and differential costs of different types of food, emerged as factors related to food access. However, interactions with the food environment were shaped by broader economic factors, such as limited employment opportunities and low income. Most immigrants felt that they had good geographic access to food, though KIs expressed concerns about the types of outlet and food that were most accessible. Immigrants discussed social networks and cultural food practices, whereas KIs discussed political issues related to supporting food security in the Region. CONCLUSION This exploratory case study is consistent with prior research in highlighting the economic constraints within which food access exists but suggests that there may be a need to further dissect food environments.

Imagining body size over time: Adolescents’ relational perspectives on body weight and place

ABSTRACT The author contextualizes the social construction of body weight among 31 adolescents living in low-income neighborhoods in Southern Ontario, Canada. Theoretically informed by critical “obesity” discourse and the temporal turn in youth geographies, this article explores the ways in which participants defined acceptance and risk of fatness, the fluidity of their own body weight, and the connection between body size and place. These constructions gathered through in-depth and go-along interviews are interpreted through the lens of relational geographies that account for multiple spatial-temporal experiences of place. Temporality plays a significant role in three thematic areas emerging from the data: pausing the present, recursive fatness over time, futurity of body weight in place. The author concludes with a discussion of bringing temporality to the forefront of youth fatness and childhood “obesity” discourse to shift the narrative away from risk. In addition, the author emphasizes the power of story and imagination in shifting the cultural understandings of body size among adolescents. Finally, the author responds to a broader call to action that advocates for a more relational approach to the study of “obesogenic” environments and place. Temporality in general and futurity in particular are important areas of future investigation for the study of young fat bodies in/out of place.