Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Canada's immigration policy is built on principles of multiculturalism and diversity. However, this diversity may also mean that Canadians will have different health risks and health problems. Even though new immigrants may define themselves as "Canadian," their home environment may result in different health risks for them compared to other new immigrants, or even those who have grown up in Canada. This may be magnified among youth, who rely heavily on their parents for guidance and support. This study of Canadian young people will investigate differences between ethnicities for 1) physical activity and obesity, and 2) violence and intentional injury. We will also explore the effect of the ethnic composition of communities on youth. To conduct this study, we will use the Health Behaviours in School-Aged Children survey, which is a national survey of 25,000 children in 500 schools in all provinces and territories in Canada. This study will be the main focus of my Ph.D. The results from my Ph.D. can be used by policymakers to improve programs aimed at new immigrants to Canada. For example, if we saw that certain ethnic groups had higher injury rates, we could investigate why and prevent this from happening. The outcomes I am interested in (physical activity, obesity, violence and injury) are important to investigate as they can have serious long-term consequences for our youth.