Neighbourhood context and abuse among immigrant and non-immigrant women in Canada: findings from the Maternity Experiences Survey

Abstract

Objectives To examine the relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and concentration of immigrants, and abuse among immigrant women versus non-immigrant women. Methods Using data from the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey (un-weighted sample N = 5,679 and weighted sample N = 68,719) linked to the neighbourhoods Census data, we performed contextual analysis to compare abuse prevalence among: immigrants B5 years, immigrants [5 years and Canadian-born. We identified two level effect modifiers: living in high (B15 % of households at or below low-income cut-off-[LICO]) versus low-income ([15 % below LICO) neighbourhoods and living in high (C25 %) versus low immigrant (\25 %) neighbourhoods. Individual socioeconomic position (SEP), family variables and neighbourhood SEP or percentage of immigrants were considered in different logistic regression models. Results Immigrant women were less likely to experience abuse even upon adjustment for individual SEP, family variables and neighbourhood characteristics. The protective effect of the neighborhood was stronger among immigrant women living in low-income and high immigrant neighborhoods, irrespective of length of stay in Canada. Conclusion Policies and interventions to reduce abuse among immigrant women need to consider neighbourhood's SEP and concentration of immigrants.

Correlates of Abuse Around the Time of Pregnancy: Results from a National Survey of Canadian Women

“…Other studies have reported lower rates of violence among pregnant immigrant women than we observed in this study [52,53], but found significant associations with poorer health behaviours, including not being current in vaccinations, not taking folic acid before pregnancy, and initiating prenatal care late [52]. Thus, some have suggested that immigrant status is not protective against abuse, but rather that abuse is under-reported by immigrant women [54] for reasons including male domination and patriarchy, lack of knowledge and access to social services, male attendance at social and health visits that discourage women from disclosing, financial dependency on their husbands, and fear of deportation if they report abuse [55].…”

Ethnic inequalities in health between Arabs and Jews in Israel: the relative contribution of individual-level factors and the living environment

“…However, while political conflict is probably a source of chronic stress for both groups, each population may still be affected differently by historical stressors. These may include the political status of Arabs, their trauma due to displacement (Daoud et al 2012) and systematic or institutional discrimination (Lewin et al 2006;Osman et al 2017), and rapid changes in lifestyle that have likely affected their health (Daoud et al 2009a), Jews, meanwhile, faced the horror or legacy of the Holocaust, repeated wars, and major cultural and social transitions following immigration, whether as refugees or otherwise (Shuval and Anson 2000). However, our findings suggest that the better SRH reported by Jewish participants might have been protected by their higher SES, higher social support, and lower chronic stress in recent decades (Soskolne and Manor 2010).…”

Patterns of social inequalities across pregnancy and birth outcomes: a comparison of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic measures

“…The census data were reported at the level of dissemination areas (DAs), a census unit of 400 to 700 persons [ 38 ]. Only one woman in each DA was interviewed for the MES [ 5 , 39 ].…”