Download Exploring the Link Between Neighbourhood and Newcomer Immigrant Health

Black Creek is a community occupied by many people from distinct ethnic and racial groups on a low income, who face unique challenges in securing employment and economic opportunities.  How do these families overcome the challenges they face and how do these strategies affect their health and well-being?  These were the questions posed by the researchers in Income Security, Race and Health: Employment and Income Insecurities faced by Racialized Groups and their Impact on Health.

The research project was conducted in three phases:

The first phase, the Photovoice eXposed Project, showcases the photographs taken by local residents on the social impacts of poverty and racism.  Photovoice is an approach which enables people from the community to visually represent their knowledge of their own reality.

The second phase, Process Report, describes the experiences and perspectives of different communities and service providers on the system-related barriers and discriminations that people from racialized communities face in the labour market and the impact that these have on the income security and health of their families.

The third phase, Family Interviews and Workshops, presents findings of interviews conducted with local families on the strategies they use to achieve income security and the economic and health impacts of these strategies.

Four research bulletins will provide highlights of the findings from the second and third phases.  Stay tuned to find out more!

Income Security, Race and Health: Employment and Income Insecurities faced by Racialized Groups and their Impact on Health

Principal Organization: Access Alliance Multicultural Community Health Centre

Partner Organizations: Black Creek Community Health Centre, Griffin Centre, Toronto Public Health, Delta Family Resources Centre, York University, YoukU-TD Community Engagement Centre, University of Toronto (Cities Center), Ryerson University, Colour of Poverty Campaign, Black Creek Community Collaborative

Participants: Low-income racialized groups in Black Creek area

Research Methods: focus groups, interviews, photovoice

Principal Organizations: Ryerson University

Investigators: Dr. Sepali Guruge, Dr. Parvathy Kanthasamy

Participants: Older Tamil immigrant women

Research Methods: Interviews and focus groups

To increase awareness of the challenges faced by immigrant seniors and to elucidate the structural realities that condition their lives, a series of focus group sessions were organized between January and March 2008. Participants were recruited from the constituent communities, and discussions were conducted in their own language.

An environmental scan of the sexual attidues, behaviours, and potential risk factors of adolescents and youth of Portuguese-speaking origin in Toronto, with special attention to high risk and stigmatized youth.

Despite Canada’s generally high standard of living and a health care system that offers universal access to high quality care, there are major health disparities in our nation. These health disparities are most pronounced for vulnerable populations particularly new immigrants, refugees and Canadian born people from non-dominant ethno-racial communities who often, through the process of racialization, are treated in different and unequal in ways with regressive social, economic and political impacts (Galabuzi, 2001). Improving the health of such vulnerable populations requires moving beyond interventions focused on changing individual behaviours to approaches that address systemic issues that impact on their health, namely racism and racial discrimination.

Emerging research shows that the main determinants of health are neither medical nor behavioural but rather social and economic (Raphael, 2004). Despite evidence of the health impacts of structural inequalities, health determinants such as racism and racial discrimination have received the least attention. For example, there has been very little Canadian research documenting immigrants and racialized people’s experiences with and responses to perceived ‘differential health care’. The term ‘differential care’, adopted by our Racialised Communities and Access to Healthcare Working Group research group, refers to unequal or lower quality care and/or reduced access to care experienced by racialized people as a result of systemic, overt and covert forms of exclusion and discrimination

Researchers conducted a literature review on immigrant and refugee youth affected by war, trauma, and displacement. A major research theme that emerged is the impact of war on the mental health of children and youth including depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The literature addresses the challenges of settling into a new country and the lack of culturally and socially sensitive services for immigrants and refugees. There is a gap in the literature regarding positive experiences and coping strategies of these children and youths. Researchers have created a research proposal to address this gap that will focus on the mental well-being and coping skills of immigrant and refugee youths affected by war.

Researchers identified the fact that while there are many studies on the impact of socioeconomic factors on racialized minority groups in Canada, there is little community based research in this area. The goal of this project was to use a community approach to give voice to racialized individuals and to include them in producing knowledge about their own experiences. Researchers worked with residents of the Black Creek area and focused on how income and employment affected their health and the health of their families. A participatory action research was developed through this partnership.

The project aimed to develop a model for culturally sensitive care for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Focusing on Chinese groups in Toronto, researchers distributed surveys and conducted 2-hour focus groups with parents to learn about their thoughts on ADHD in children and on treatment services. The primary barriers to accessing treatment were language and a lack of knowledge about ADHD. In response, researchers held a community workshop for parents in the Chinese community on ADHD and how to support for children at risk. A Chinese translation of an ADHD assessment tool was also developed. Researchers are building upon this research to create a template for other academics and agencies to help understand the needs of diverse populations when providing mental health services to children.