Ethn Health. 2008 Oct 23:1-19. [Epub ahead of print] Links
'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.
Asanin Dean J, Wilson K.
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, 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.
Dennis Raphael, PhD
Professor of Health Policy and Management
York University
4700 Keele Street
Room 418, HNES Building
Toronto, Ontario M4M 1W8
416-736-2100, ext. 22134
email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.atkinson.yorku.ca/draphael
Of interest:
*NEW* Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 2nd edition,
edited by Dennis Raphael
Forewords by Carolyn Bennett and Roy Romanow
http://tinyurl.com/5l6yh9
Poverty and Policy in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life
by Dennis Raphael
Foreword by Jack Layton
http://tinyurl.com/2hg2df
Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care,
edited by Dennis Raphael, Toba Bryant, and Marcia Rioux
Foreword by Gary Teeple
http://tinyurl.com/2zqrox
See a lecture! The Politics of Population Health
http://msl.stream.yorku.ca/mediasite/viewer/?peid=ac604170-9ccc-4268-a1af-9a9e04b28e1d
Also, presentation on Politics and Health at the Centre for Health
Disparities in Cleveland Ohio
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4129139685624192201&hl=en
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