title: Immigrant status and having a regular medical doctor among Canadian adults.
abstract: New immigrants generally arrive in Canada with a health advantage over their Canadian counterparts, but lose that advantage over time. Difficulties in acquiring a physician may contribute. Past studies relied on older data, and lacked control for many confounders and assessment of gender differences. We assessed the relationship between immigrant status and having a regular doctor among Canadian adults.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional data from the 2011-2012 Canadian Community Health Survey were self-reported by 73,958 respondents aged 18-64, representing >20 million Canadian adults. The relationship between immigrant status and having a doctor was analyzed using χ2 and logistic regression analyses stratified by gender. Age, body mass index, race, education, province of residence, physical activity, chronic conditions, self-perceived health, and number of children in household were controlled.
  
  
  
  Approximately 77% of males and 87% of females reported having a doctor. About 7% of respondents reported being new immigrants in Canada (0-9 years), while 16% were established immigrants (≥10 years). For males (M) and females (F) respectively, 78% and 88% of non-immigrants, 55% and 68% of new immigrants, and 84% and 91% of established immigrants reported having a doctor (p < 0.001). Compared to non-immigrants, new immigrants were significantly less likely to have a doctor (OR (95% CI) M: 0.43 (0.38-0.47); F: 0.36 (0.32-0.41)), while established immigrants were significantly more likely to have a doctor (M: 1.13 (1.03-1.24); F: 1.16 (1.03-1.30)).
  
  
  
  New Canadian immigrants are less likely to have a regular doctor compared to non-immigrants, and should be targeted by policies and programs facilitating finding a doctor.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada.
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Degelman
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada. Katya.Herman@uregina.ca.
authors.forename: Katya M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Herman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult