Delayed Access to Medical Care and Psychological Distress among Chinese Immigrants in Canada during the Pandemic-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Delayed Access to Medical Care and Psychological Distress among Chinese Immigrants in Canada during the Pandemic

Published:2024-08-16 Issue:16 Volume:12 Page:1639
ISSN:2227-9032
Container-title:Healthcare
language:en
Short-container-title:Healthcare

Author:

Vo Anh Thu¹^ORCID,Yang Lixia²³^ORCID,Urquhart Robin⁴⁵⁶^ORCID,Yi Yanqing¹^ORCID,Wang Peizhong Peter¹³⁷^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3V6, Canada

2. Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada

3. The Centre for New Immigrant Well-Being (CNIW), Markham, ON L3R 6G2, Canada

4. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 1V7, Canada

5. Cancer Outcomes Research Program, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, NS B3S 0H6, Canada

6. Department of Surgery, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, NS B3H 2Y9, Canada

7. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada

Abstract

The psychological impact of medical care accessibility during the pandemic has been widely studied, but little attention has been given to Asian immigrants in Canada. This study aimed to fill this literature gap by using a cross-sectional survey, which aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese immigrants in North America during the second wave of the pandemic. The study focused on Chinese immigrants aged 16 or older in Canada. Covariates included sociodemographic variables, delayed access to medical care (i.e., treatment or health assessment), and other COVID-19 related variables. We used logistic LASSO regression for model selection and multivariate logistic regression models to evaluate the association between delayed access to treatment/health assessment and psychological distress outcome, as measured by the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). Missing data were handled using multiple imputation. Our study included 746 respondents, with 47.18% in the normal CPDI group and 36.82% in the mild-to-severe CPDI group. Most respondents were originally from Mainland China and residing in Ontario. Over half have stayed in Canada for at least 15 years. The multivariate logistic regression models identified significant risk predictors of psychological distress status: delayed access to medical care (OR = 1.362, 95% CI: 1.078–1.720, p = 0.0095), fear of COVID-19 (OR = 1.604, 95% CI: 1.293–1.989, p < 0.0001), and social loneliness (OR = 1.408, 95%CI: 1.314–1.508, p < 0.0001). Sociodemographic variables and other COVID-19-related variates did not significantly impact the study’s outcome. Our findings shed light on the importance of timely medical care access to psychological well-being among Chinese Canadians. Reliable health information, mental health support, and virtual care tailored to immigrants should be considered to mitigate this impact and promote their overall health and well-being.

Funder

New Frontiers Research Fund through the Canadian Institute of Health Research

Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute

Publisher

MDPI AG

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/16/1639/pdf

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