National Adult Literacy Database

The authors of this study use data from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) to determine whether there are differences in health literacy and health outcomes between immigrants and those born in Canada.

As well, they look at whether there are differences within immigrant sub-groups based on country of origin and length of time in Canada, and whether there are differences within groups of second and third-plus generation non-immigrants.

The results show that immigrants were less likely to report high health literacy compared to non-immigrants, a finding that held up even after adjusting for selected literacy-related factors. The study also found that there were no differences in health literacy among immigrant and generational groups after controlling for all the selected factors.

The authors note that their analysis suggests that education and literacy practices at home are important in achieving both higher health literacy and good health for all Canadians, but especially for immigrants.

The study was published by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL).