Challenges in accessing health care services : Canadian children living in mixed-status families

Few studies have explored the prevalence of Canadian children with family members that have precarious legal status and the impact of parental immigration status on a child's access to health care in Canada. This quantitative research study uses a rights-based approach to discuss secondary data collected retrospectively between 2005-2009 at a medical clinic for uninsured patients in eastern Toronto, Ontario (n=128). Demographic, immigration, and health-related factors are presented, and parental immigration status and health-seeking behaviours are explored. Findings indicate that: many Canadian children (Canadian-born and naturalized Canadians) are uninsured; Canadian children who attend the clinic are sick, as opposed to accessing well-child check-ups; and, a group of Canadian children living in mixed-status families are accessing health care facilities for medically uninsured patients. This study highlights mixed-status families, and the potential impact on children's access to health care. This study helps fill the research gap regarding uninsured Canadian children. It is intended to increase community and professional awareness about impingements made in fulfilling Canadian children's right to access the "universal" health care services they have been promised. In turn, this research could inform future policy, practice, and research within health care, educational, and governmental domains.