Immigration, Generation and Self-Rated Health in Canada: On the Role of Health Literacy (Quantitative Research) (Report‪)‬

Health literacy, the ability to access and use health information to make appropriate health decisions and maintain basic health, (1,2) is now considered a critical pathway linking education to health and a contributor to health disparities. (1) Previous research shows that limited health literacy is associated with difficulties accessing health information and using medical services, depressive symptoms, mortality and poor self-rated health. (3-7) In Canada, about 60% of adults (age [greater than or equal to] 16) lack the requisite level of health literacy. Although this is partly due to the aging of the population and the shrinking youth cohort, an important contributor could be the growing immigrant population. (1,8) Not only is the proportion of immigrants in the population (standing at 20% in 2006) the highest since the 1930s, immigrants' countries of origin changed since the 1960s. Whereas in 2006, recent immigrants mainly came from Asia (58%) followed by Europe (16%), the corresponding figures in 1971 were 11% and 61%, respectively. (9) Because many recent immigrants have cultures and languages different from those of Canada, they are likely to face adjustment challenges in Canada. The short- and long-term impact of immigration is therefore of research and policy importance. Research on immigrants has identified generational status as a marker of integration into the host society. (10) Research in this area examines differences between generations of immigrants in different socio-economic and health outcomes.