Research Library

Health information seeking among immigrant families in Western Canada

Abstract
Studies on immigrant populations' access to healthcare in Canada tend to focus on adults and usually concentrate on specific ethnic groups. This study sought to present the experiences of immigrant parents in Edmonton, AB when they access health services for their children focusing specifically on the various sources of information that they used to improve their children's health. Fifty immigrant parents from Edmonton semi-structured interviews. We developed three main themes from the data: Accessing social networks for informational support, the role of professionals in accessing health care information, and navigating and evaluating information sources. The study demonstrates that immigrant families consulted various sources of information in order to meet their children's healthcare needs. The most common source was the Internet followed by friends and family members, and health care professionals. Findings suggest that health information that is disseminated using the Internet needs to be made available in multiple languages to facilitate communication to persons who are not fluent in English nor French. Also, policy makers and health care professionals must increase focus on informal sources of health care information.
Authors: Alleson Mason,Bukola Salami,Jordana Salma,Sophie Yohani,Maryam Amin,Philomina Okeke-Ihejirika,Tehseen Ladha Publication Date: 1/1/2021

Publication Type: Journal Article

URL:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0882596320306618
Notes

Community organizations: n/a

Integration timeline: not defined

Location: Edmonton, AB

Future research / gaps identified:

Assess why these health information sources were preferred.

Key findings:

1) Participants utilized information sources that were accessible, convenient and in close proximity first.

2) The most preferred source for healthcare information was the Internet.

3) The second most preferred source was family, friends, and others in their community.

4) Participants used multiple sources of information to verify that what they found on the Internet was accurate.

5) Participants preferred to use informal networks rather than accessing health information through healthcare professionals.

Key populations: Immigrant parents in Edmonton

Key recommendations:

Ensure accurate health information in multiple languages is easily available online.

Open access: No


Collections children-youth-and-elderly , physical-and-mental-health , social-services

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