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Health Literacy, Language, and Ethnicity-Related Factors in Newcomer Asthma Patients to Canada: A Qualitative Study

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were to investigate how asthma patients from new immigrant groups are being informed and educated about asthma and its management, and to identify barriers to knowledge transfer. Four focus groups (n = 29) from Latino, Chinese, Iranian and Punjabi cultural communities were conducted with asthmatic patients in the Greater Vancouver Area. Our results from the focus group discussions can be summarized in four broad areas (a) perceptions of and ways of coping with asthma, (b) perceptions of whether the healthcare system is culturally competent, (c) perceptions of language barriers in regards to accessing the healthcare system, and (d) perceptions of how to access reliable asthma information. The results of this study highlight the importance of diverse cultural beliefs and practices as factors that should be taken into consideration when tailoring interventions to improve asthma outcomes in vulnerable populations, including patients from ethno-cultural communities.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded in part by an unrestricted educational grant from Astra Zeneca. JMF is a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Distinguished Scholar and a CIHR/BC Lung Clinician Scientist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UBC and VGH Divisions of Respiratory Medicine, Centre for Lung Health The Lung Centre, University of British Columbia, 7th Floor, Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9, Canada

    Iraj Poureslami & J. Mark FitzGerald

  2. Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Iraj Poureslami, Mary M. Doyle-Waters & J. Mark FitzGerald

  3. Faculty of Human and Social Development, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada

    Irving Rootman

  4. Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Laura Nimmon

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  1. Iraj Poureslami
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  2. Irving Rootman
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  3. Mary M. Doyle-Waters
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  4. Laura Nimmon
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  5. J. Mark FitzGerald
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Correspondence to J. Mark FitzGerald.

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Poureslami, I., Rootman, I., Doyle-Waters, M.M. et al. Health Literacy, Language, and Ethnicity-Related Factors in Newcomer Asthma Patients to Canada: A Qualitative Study. J Immigrant Minority Health 13, 315–322 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9405-x

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