Immigrant Status and Unmet Home Care Needs: Results from the Canadian Community Health Survey

This study assessed the relationship between immigration status, including recency, and unmet home care needs. Data from the 2015-2016 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) was used to analyze the relationship between immigration status and unmet home care needs. Descriptive analyses and multivariable logistic regression controlling for age, sex, marital status, and education were calculated. Of the study sample of 5976 respondents, 34.5% had unmet home care needs. Prevalence of unmet needs was highest among recent immigrants (43.8%), compared with long-time immigrants (40.5%) and non-immigrants (32.7%). Adjusted odds of unmet needs was higher for both immigrant categories than non-immigrants, and stronger for long-time immigrants (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.20) than recent immigrants (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 0.67, 3.00). The finding that immigrants are more likely to experience unmet home care needs, with a slight difference between recent and long-time immigrants, suggests home care access inequities exist between immigrants and non-immigrants, and among immigrants.