Access to Health Care Services and Self-Perceived Health of Canada’s Official-Language Minorities

Abstract

Official-language minorities in Canada may face specific issues in accessing health care services that can lead to negative consequences on their health, utilization of health care services and satisfaction with the health care system. A secondary data analysis of the 2006 Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities revealed significant differences between the Anglophone minority (n=5,161) and the Francophone minority (n=12,029) with regards to general health, and access to and use of health care services. Important predictors of these outcomes included age, education level, household income, marital status and place of residence (urban/rural). Access to health care services in the minority language was associated with self-perceived health in the Anglophone minority only. Health policy recommendations elaborated in light of the findings include working on both the supply and the demand of health care services offered in the two official languages, while taking into consideration important contextual differences between regions.