Exploring the Impact of Health Care Provider Cultural Competence on New Immigrant Health-Related Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study of Canadian Newcomers.
Afef Zghal, Maher El-Masri, Suzanne McMurphy and 1 others
PMID 33095098WHAT IT FOUND
New immigrants who reported discrimination also reported lower overall quality-of-life scores.
Higher education and more children were associated with lower scores. Interpreter use was associated with better environmental quality of life, and provider trust with better physical health ratings.
Key findings
01Experiences of discrimination, higher education, and more children were independently associated with lower overall health-related quality of life.
02Interpreter use was associated with better environmental health, while experiences of discrimination were associated with worse environmental health.
03Trust in the primary health care provider was associated with better physical health, while more children and older age were associated with worse physical health.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Most participants were women and came from Iraq or Syria, so the findings may not apply to other newcomer groups. The survey was cross-sectional, so it measured perceptions at one time and cannot show that discrimination, interpreter use, or trust caused changes in quality of life. Participants were recruited from two immigrant-serving organizations in one Canadian city, so they may have had more social support and different experiences than other newcomers. Answers were self-reported, so social desirability and response bias could not be ruled out. The cultural competence tool lacked detailed analysis instructions, was available only in English, and did not provide one overall score across all domains.
Declared interests
The paper reports funding from the University of Windsor. It lists non-U.S. government research support. No commercial sponsor or author conflict declaration is included in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that giving an interpreter, reducing discrimination, or building trust will improve quality of life. This was a cross-sectional survey of mostly women from Iraq and Syria, so it measured perceptions at one time and cannot show cause.