Becoming self-sufficient: The experience of Iranian immigrants who access Canadian health care services

Canada is home to people from various cultural groups who speak languages other than English or French. Iranians comprise an immigrant group that has a very different cultural background from that of the mainstream Canadian population and speaks a language other than English or French, in this case mainly Persian (Farsi). More than 103367 Iranian immigrants live in Canada. For these reasons, research with Iranian newcomers is useful for learning about strategies that immigrants develop to access health care services.;The research question guiding this study was, "What are the processes by which Iranian immigrants learn to access health care services in Canada?" To answer this question, the author applied a constructivist grounded theory approach. Unstructured and semistructured interviews were conducted with 17 first-generation Iranians (11 women and 6 men) who were adults (at least 18 years old) and who had immigrated to Canada within the past 15 years. Findings suggested that although language was a key factor, appropriate, effective, acceptable, and responsive facilities and services played an important role in Iranian immigrants' accessing health care services. The processes of accessing health care services, becoming self-sufficient, and being integrated were complex and reciprocal, suggesting that self-sufficiency in access to health care may be perceived as an indicator of integration. In addition to commonly employed resources for accessing health care services, Iranians received considerable help from the public library, librarians, and the Internet. They considered these to be the most helpful resources.