Grant: Operating Grant

Our goal is to measure differences in the use of prescription drugs across ethnic groups in British Columbia. We will also determine whether government communications about prescription drug benefits targeted at specific ethnic populations reduced ethnic variations in medicine use in BC. The use and cost of prescription drugs has risen quickly in recent years. At the same time, Canada's ethnocultural makeup has changed significantly. The current proportion of the Canadian population that is foreign-born is the highest it has been in 75 years and is among the highest such proportions in western countries. Statistics Canada reports trends toward greater diversity of ethnic backgrounds in Canada and greater numbers of Chinese and South Asian Canadians in particular. Given the increase use of medicines and changing makeup of our population, surprisingly little is known about ethnic variations in the use of prescription medicines in Canada. Our previous CIHR-funded research suggests that this lack of information could be a serious problem. We are therefore going to use a unique database from British Columbia to determine the extent of ethnic variations in the use of prescription drugs in BC during the period of 1996 to 2007. Research from this project will be communicated to policy makers, other researchers, and directly to communities through presentations and summaries in a variety of languages.