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Perceived Health Status of Francophones and Anglophones in an Officially Bilingual Canadian Province

  • Quantitative Research
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Abstract

Objective: It has been reported that being part of a minority group may be negatively associated with self-perceived health. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether there are differences in perceived health between the Francophone minority and Anglophone majority in New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province in Canada.

Methods: Data from the first four primary cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (2001 to 2007) were obtained for 17,729 New Brunswick residents. Odds of reporting good health among Francophones and Anglophones were compared using multivariate logistic regressions accounting for age, health-related behaviours, socio-demographic variables, and medical conditions.

Results: In the final models, Francophone men and women were less likely than Anglophones to report their health as being good, although these differences were not statistically significant (Odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 0.88, 0.61–1.26; 0.71, 0.49-1.04, in men and women, respectively).

Conclusion: This study suggests that being part of the linguistic minority in New Brunswick is not associated with statistically significant differences in self-perceived health.

Résumé

Objectif: Faire partie d’un groupe minoritaire peut être lié à une moins bonne santé perçue. L’objectif de cette analyse est de déterminer s’il existe des différences au niveau de la santé perçue entre la minorité francophone et la majorité anglophone du Nouveau-Brunswick, la seule province officiellement bilingue au Canada.

Méthodes: Les données des quatre premiers cycles de l’Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes (2001 à 2007) ont été obtenues pour 17 729 résidents du Nouveau-Brunswick. Les chances de rapporter une bonne santé chez les francophones et les anglophones ont été comparées en utilisant des rapports de côtes prenant en considération les variables âge, comportements liés à la santé, facteurs sociodémographiques, et conditions médicales.

Résultats: Dans les modèles finaux, les hommes et femmes francophones étaient moins enclins que les anglophones à rapporter une bonne santé, mais ces différences n’étaient pas statistiquement significatives (rapport de côtes, intervalle de confiance à 95 %: 0,88, 0,61–1,26; 0,71, 0,49–1,04, chez les hommes et les femmes, respectivement).

Conclusion: Cette étude suggère que le statut de francophone en situation minoritaire au Nouveau-Brunswick n’est pas lié à une différence statistiquement significative de la santé perçue.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick, Pavillon J.-Raymond-Frenette, 15, rue des Aboiteaux, Moncton, NB, E1A 3E9, Canada

    Mathieu Bélanger PhD & Aurel Schofield MD

  2. Department of Family Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Mathieu Bélanger PhD & Aurel Schofield MD

  3. Vitalité Health Network Research Centre, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Mathieu Bélanger PhD & Brigitte Sonier MSc

  4. Faculté des sciences de la santé et des services communautaires, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Mathieu Bélanger PhD, Aurel Schofield MD & Paul-Emile Bourque PhD

  5. Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Louise Bouchard PhD & Isabelle Gagnon-Arpin MSc

  6. Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Isabelle Gaboury PhD

  7. Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Brigitte Sonier MSc

Authors
  1. Mathieu Bélanger PhD
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  2. Louise Bouchard PhD
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  3. Isabelle Gaboury PhD
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  4. Brigitte Sonier MSc
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  5. Isabelle Gagnon-Arpin MSc
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  6. Aurel Schofield MD
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  7. Paul-Emile Bourque PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mathieu Bélanger PhD.

Additional information

Acknowledgement of support: The analyses were performed in the context of research programs funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Bouchard et al. Les déterminants de la santé des minorités francophones une analyse secondaire de l’ESCC) and the Consortium national de formation en santé, volet Université de Moncton (Bourque et al.).

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

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Bélanger, M., Bouchard, L., Gaboury, I. et al. Perceived Health Status of Francophones and Anglophones in an Officially Bilingual Canadian Province. Can J Public Health 102, 122–126 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404160

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404160

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