Self-Reported Health of Working-Age Refugees, Immigrants, and the Canadian-Born
Table 3
Adjusted odd ratios (aOR) of good physical health among refugees, immigrants, and individuals born in Canada by visible minority status and other characteristics (n = 17,082).
Canadian-born (n = 11,266) OR (95% CI)
value
Refugees (n = 753) OR (95% CI)
value
Immigrants (n = 5063) OR (95% CI)
value
Demographics
Visible minority status
Not a visible minority (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
0.15
Visible minority
0.75 (0.54, 1.03)
0.08
0.89 (0.15, 5.18)
0.90
1.30 (0.91, 1.87)
Sex
Male (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
Female
1.02 (0.88, 1.18)
0.76
1.49 (0.75, 2.96)
0.26
0.70 (0.56, 0.88)
0.002
Age
45–64 years (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
15–24 years
2.52 (2.14, 2.95)
<0.001
1.89 (0.84, 4.26)
0.13
1.68 (1.28, 2.20)
<0.001
Socioeconomic status
Education
High school diploma or less (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
More than a high school diploma
1.44 (1.24, 1.68)
<0.001
0.48 (0.23, 1.00)
0.05
1.57 (1.23, 1.99)
<0.001
Total household income from the past year
$49,999 and below (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
$50,000 and $99,999
1.54 (1.27,1.87)
<0.001
0.65 (0.31, 1.39)
0.27
1.56 (1.18, 2.08)
0.002
$100,000 or more
2.08 (1.69, 2.56)
<0.001
1.22 (0.42, 3.55)
0.72
1.91 (1.39, 2.63)
<0.001
Missing/refused/do not know
1.75 (1.39, 2.19)
<0.001
4.47 (1.15, 17.41)
0.03
1.60 (1.14, 2.25)
0.006
Marital status
Single/widowed/divorced/separated (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
Married/common-law
0.92 (0.78, 1.09)
0.32
2.30 (1.07, 4.93)
0.03
0.94 (0.73, 1.22)
0.65
Presence of a confidant
No confidant (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
1 or more confidants (s)
1.13 (0.77, 1.66)
0.53
0.58 (0.12, 2.74)
0.49
1.61 (1.01, 2.58)
0.05
Social trust
Hesitant to trust people (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
Believes most people can be trusted
1.55 (1.33, 1.81)
<0.001
1.81 (0.89, 3.69)
0.10
1.82 (1.45, 2.29)
<0.001
Involvement with social groups/organizations/associations in the past 12 months
None (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
1 or more
1.41 (1.21, 1.64)
<0.001
1.79 (0.94, 3.42)
0.08
1.17 (0.93, 1.47)
0.19
Experience of discrimination of any form for any reason in Canada in the past 5 years
Yes (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
No
1.82 (1.56, 2.12)
<0.001
2.03 (1.05, 3.92)
0.04
2.00 (1.60, 2.50)
<0.001
Language most often spoken at home
Other languages (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
English or French
0.61 (0.41, 0.90)
0.01
2.83 (1.26, 6.33)
0.01
0.85 (0.65, 1.11)
0.23
% of friends contacted in the past month with the same mother tongue
Less than half (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
Half or more
1.70 (1.25, 2.31)
0.001
0.59 (0.28, 1.28)
0.18
0.98 (0.75, 1.28)
0.88
% of friends contacted in the past month that were of a visibly different ethnicity
Half or more (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
Less than half
1.12 (0.89, 1.39)
0.34
0.56 (0.27, 1.19)
0.13
0.68 (0.52, 0.88)
0.004
Sense of belonging to Canada
Very weak/somewhat weak/somewhat strong/no opinion (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
Very strong
1.15 (0.99, 1.33)
0.07
0.93 (0.46, 2.03)
0.92
0.58 (0.46, 0.75)
<0.001
Self-reported mental health
Fair/poor (ref.)
1.00
1.00
1.00
Good/very good/excellent
8.28 (6.87, 9.98)
<0.001
163.2 (50.0, 533.2)
<0.001
13.4 (9.8, 18.3)
<0.001
Number of years since arrival in Canada
—
—
1.00 (0.96, 1.03)
0.80
0.99 (0.98, 1.00)
0.016
Place of birth of respondent (for those born outside of Canada)
