Set within the "determinants of health" framework and drawing on Statistics Canada's longitudinal National Population Health Survey, this article explores health care utilization by Canada's immigrant population. Given the observed "healthy immigrant effect," whereby the health status of immigrants at the time of arrival is high but subsequently declines and converges toward that of the native-born population, does the incidence of use of health care facilities reflect greater need for care? Similarly, does the use of health care facilities by the native- and the foreign-born differ, and if so, are these differences explained primarily by socioeconomic, sociodemographic, or lifestyle factors, which may point to problems in the Canadian health care system? This study identifies trends in the incidence of physician and hospital use, the factors that contribute to health care use, and differences in health care use between the native- and foreign-born. © 2009, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.

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immigrant lifestyle Life Style immigrant population demography Health Status Disparities human Health Behavior middle aged health status Aged population decline socioeconomic conditions North America Humans male Canada Emigrants and Immigrants female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics hospital sector health services Incidence Article health care health care utilization adult Sociology, Medical hospital health care facility health care system Healthcare Disparities health survey