Vo Anh Thu, Yang Lixia, Urquhart Robin, Yi Yanqing, Wang Peizhong Peter
Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B 3V6, Canada.
Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Aug 16;12(16):1639. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12161639.
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, = 0.0095), fear of COVID-19 (OR = 1.604, 95% CI: 1.293-1.989, < 0.0001), and social loneliness (OR = 1.408, 95%CI: 1.314-1.508, < 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.
疫情期间医疗可及性的心理影响已得到广泛研究，但加拿大的亚洲移民却很少受到关注。本研究旨在通过横断面调查填补这一文献空白，该调查旨在评估第二波疫情期间新冠疫情对北美的中国移民的影响。研究聚焦于加拿大16岁及以上的中国移民。协变量包括社会人口统计学变量、延迟获得医疗服务（即治疗或健康评估）以及其他与新冠疫情相关的变量。我们使用逻辑LASSO回归进行模型选择，并使用多变量逻辑回归模型来评估延迟获得治疗/健康评估与心理困扰结果之间的关联，心理困扰结果通过新冠疫情创伤相关困扰指数（CPDI）来衡量。使用多重填补法处理缺失数据。我们的研究包括746名受访者，其中47.18%属于CPDI正常组，36.82%属于CPDI轻至重度组。大多数受访者来自中国大陆，居住在安大略省。超过一半的人在加拿大至少居住了15年。多变量逻辑回归模型确定了心理困扰状态的显著风险预测因素：延迟获得医疗服务（优势比=1.362，95%置信区间：1.078 - 1.720，P = 0.0095）、对新冠疫情的恐惧（优势比=1.604，95%置信区间：1.293 - 1.989，P < 0.0001）以及社交孤独感（优势比=1.408，95%置信区间：1.314 - 1.508，P < 0.0001）。社会人口统计学变量和其他与新冠疫情相关的变量对研究结果没有显著影响。我们的研究结果揭示了及时获得医疗服务对加拿大华裔心理健康的重要性。应考虑提供可靠的健康信息、心理健康支持以及为移民量身定制的虚拟护理，以减轻这种影响并促进他们的整体健康和福祉。
