Knowledge, psychological impacts, and protective behaviours during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among Chinese residents in Canada with dependent school-age children: a cross-sectional online study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the knowledge, protective behaviours, and psychological impact of COVID-19 on Chinese residents in Canada, as the emotional and behavioural impacts of the pandemic have not been intensively studied amongst these populations. It was important to determine whether having dependent school-age children (DSAC) aged 16 or under was associated with adverse psychological impacts amongst the Chinese residents living in the country. METHODS: In April 2020, 757 eligible participants were recruited through a snowball sampling to complete an online survey related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological, behavioural, and sociodemographic variables were collected and first analyzed using descriptive and univariate statistics. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to further confirm the observed significant associations in bivariate analyses for selected psychological outcome variables. RESULTS: Seven hundred forty-two participants who responded to the "dependent school-age children" question were included in the analysis. Most of them identified as females (65.8%) and 77.2% included receiving a university degree or higher. There were no significant differences in COVID-19 knowledge between those living with or without DSAC. However, participants with DSAC were more likely to perceive themselves as being at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 (p = .023); therefore, having a higher chance of adopting protective behaviours (e.g., hand washing, sanitizing frequently or disinfecting work and living spaces (p < .05), elevated risks of depression (p = .007), and stress (p = .010), compared to those without DSAC. CONCLUSIONS: Predominantly, the Chinese residents in Canada with dependent school-age children were more likely to report the negative psychological impacts of the pandemic. These findings warrant further investigations that may contribute to informing key stakeholders about the identification and implementation of policies and interventions to support the needs of parents with young children, during and after the pandemic.

Dental health status, dentist visiting, and dental insurance of Asian immigrants in Canada.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the dental care utilization and self-preserved dental health of Asian immigrants relative to non-immigrants in Canada. Factors associated with oral health-related disparities between Asian immigrants and other Canadians were further examined. METHODS: We analyzed 37,935 Canadian residents aged 12 years and older in the Canadian Community Health Survey 2012-2014 microdata file. Factors (e.g., demographics, socioeconomic status, lifestyles, dental insurance coverage, and year of immigration) associated with disparities in dental health (e.g., self-perceived teeth health, dental symptoms during past one month, and teeth removed due to decay in past one year) and service utilization (e.g., visiting dentist within the last three years, visiting dentist more than once per year) between Asian immigrants and other Canadians were examined using multi-variable logistic regression models. RESULTS: The frequency of dental care utilization was significantly lower in Asian immigrants than their non-immigrant counterparts. Asian immigrants had lower self-perceived dental health, were less likely to be aware of recent dental symptoms, and more likely to report tooth extractions due to tooth decay. Low education (OR = 0.42), male gender(OR = 1.51), low household income(OR = 1.60), non-diabetes(OR = 1.87), no dental insurance(OR = 0.24), short immigration length (OR = 1.75) may discourage Asian immigrants from dental care utilization. Additionally, a perceived lack of necessity to dentist-visiting was a crucial factor accounting for the disparities in dental care uptake between Asian immigrants and non-immigrants. CONCLUSION: Asian immigrants showed lower dental care utilization and oral health than native-born Canadians.