Older Immigrant Access to Family Physicians in the Toronto CMA: A Mixed-methods Approach

Ontario’s demographic structure is changing, and the senior population is expected to nearly double from 2020 to 2046 (2.6 to 4.5 million), leading to increased demand for healthcare services. Older immigrants are more likely to face spatial and aspatial barriers accessing healthcare. Spatial-quantitative analysis is used to explore the potential spatial accessibility to same-language family physicians (FP) for older Chinese immigrants living in the Toronto CMA. Enhanced 2-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) modeling reveals areas with poor to very high accessibility. To gain a further understanding of spatial accessibility and use of care, survey data from older Chinese immigrants were analyzed to reveal individual experiences in accessing primary care prior and during the COVID pandemic. The study highlights the role of spatial access and other neighbourhood and individual characteristics in older immigrants’ access to health care services, as well as the value of integrating spatial analysis with empirical data in health care research involving older immigrants.