1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[T]he objective of this article is to examine the association between precarious migration status and self-perceived health in Montreal. More specifically, it aims to identify the social elements that can help to understand the potential deleterious correlates involved in the precariousness of migration status.» (p. 4) Family income is one of the elements analyzed in the study.

Questions/Hypothèses :
Authors «hypothesize that self-rated health among immigrants varies across status of migration, region of birth, gender and SES [socioeconomic status].» (p. 4)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Overall, 806 participants were recruited: 436 (54.1%) in urban spaces and 370 (45.9%) at the [NGO Doctors of the World (DoW)’s health clinic in Montreal]. Based on their declaration, 421 (53.9%) were categorized as having an authorized migration status (with a valid student, work or visitor visa) and 360 (46%) without authorization (absence of a valid visa).» (p. 7)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

This study «suggests that the health perception of uninsured migrants with precarious status living in Montreal is poor, particularly as compared to results of previous studies on the health perception of Canadian immigrants and Canadian-born. Our results do not show a significant difference in terms of negative self-perceived health between subcategories of migrants with precarious status; this could mean that both the socioeconomic precariousness (associated with authorized and unauthorized statuses), and being uninsured might be responsible for poor health. […] Furthermore, lower formal education and lower family income are associated with negative self-perceived health among women only.» (p. 16) Moreover, on «the socioeconomic level, the odds of perceiving one’s health status as negative were also significantly higher among those who reported their family income only and their needs a little or not at all […] or met them fairly […] compared to those who stated that their family income met their needs very well or perfectly. Similarly, not having someone who could be asked for money in case of need was significantly associated with a negative perception of health status […].» (p. 6-9) In sum, «negative perception of health was higher among respondents who declared insufficient family income. [The] results also suggest immigrants who do not have social or financial support are more likely to perceive their health as negative.» (p. 14)