Poor health disparities among racialized students in a Canadian university.

Authors
Banerjee, Ananya Tina; Lau, Ashley; Bender, Jacqueline L
Publication year
2022
Source
Journal of American College Health, 72:2, 346-350
Keywords
Canada, Caribbean

Abstract or summary

Objective: The short report aims to examine differences in self-rated general health across racialized post-secondary students at a university in Ontario, Canada. Methods: Binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine poor health as an outcome among racialized students as whole, as well as across Asian, South Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Middle Eastern student groups in comparison to white Caucasian post-secondary students. Results: After adjusting for several covariates, racialized students as a whole had 2.43 times the odds of reporting poor general health compared to white Caucasian students. Asian (OR = 2.77; CI = 1.84-4.18; p< 0.05) and South Asian (OR = 2.52; CI = 1.56-4.08; p< 0.05) students were significantly more likely to report poor health compared to white Caucasian students. Conclusion: The findings call for further attention to the health needs of racialized post-secondary students living in Canada and creating campuses where diverse student populations feel safe and systemically included.