Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

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Immigrant and newcomer health

Language Interpretation Services in Health Care Settings in the GTA

Anjum Sultana, Anjana Aery, Nishi Kumar, Nazeefah Laher |

Hospital Doctor With Digital Tablet Talks To Male Patient

Clear communication is critical for the provision of safe, appropriate, and high-quality health care. With the growing linguistic diversity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) more patients may prefer speaking another language with their health care provider than ever before, but access to language supports is limited. Without adequate support, navigating the health care system […]

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Access to Language Interpretation in Healthcare: Executive Summary

Nishi Kumar, Nazeefah Laher, Anjum Sultana, Anjana Aery |

Medical professionals and family members around a person in a hospital bed

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in Canada. Approximately 1 in 4 people do not speak an official language (English or French) at home, and 1 in 25 people do not speak an official language at all. Yet despite the region’s growing linguistic diversity, there is no guarantee […]

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Access to Language Interpretation Services and its Impact on Clinical and Patient Outcomes

Nazeefah Laher, Anjum Sultana, Anjana Aery, Nishi Kumar |

Medical professionals and family members around a person in a hospital bed

Language barriers are a significant challenge in ensuring equitable access to health care. Ontarians who are not proficient in, or unable to speak an official language (English or French), face inequities in health care settings. Language interpretation services are an intervention to promote language accessibility in health care. To better understand the effectiveness of professional […]

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Expanding Language Interpretation Services in Health Care: Policy Brief

Anjum Sultana, Anjana Aery |

Medical professionals and family members around a person in a hospital bed

This policy brief highlights that Ontarians need access to health care in a language that they can understand. People in Ontario who do not speak English or French fluently have barriers when they try to access health care. Without adequate language support, the quality of their health care may be severely compromised. Access to trained […]

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Sanctuary City: Opportunities for Health Equity

Anjana Aery and Rebecca Cheff |

Home and world

Authors: Anjana Aery & Rebecca Cheff The global Sanctuary City movement calls on cities to be leaders in providing access to services and a safe haven for individuals without immigration status. In Canada, non-status individuals have restricted or no access to public services and have limited protections under legislation. This can leave non-status individuals in […]

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The World in a Region: Ensuring Health Equity and Success in the GTA

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World map with hands in different colours

By: Anjana Aery & Anjum Sultana Recently Statistics Canada released its latest census data on ethnocultural diversity.  Toronto remains one of the most multicultural cities in the world.  The racialized population is growing. However, there has been a shift – a fundamental one – about who makes up Toronto and what this means for our […]

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Children of immigrants: How are they changing the face of Canada?

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Refugee family sillouette

Statistics Canada recently released a series of reports analyzing key results from the 2016 Census, including figures on immigration and ethnocultural diversity. The data paints a familiar picture of the Canadian social landscape – a landscape that is increasingly defined by culturally diverse peoples and communities. The census brief on “Children with an immigrant background: […]

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Advancing Health Equity Through Language Interpretation Services

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images of heads with different shaped word bubbles

By Nazeefah Laher & Anjum Sultana Today, Statistics Canada released the 2016 census data on language showing an increasingly diverse linguistic landscape. Ontario receives over 50 percent of all immigrants to Canada so it is no surprise that nearly half of Canadians with a mother tongue other than English live in this province. More than […]

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The OHIP Three Month Wait – Policy Brief

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Dr. checking his watch

New permanent residents are unable to receive public coverage for essential health care (OHIP) within their first three months in Ontario. This policy brief brings together research evidence on the impacts of the three-month wait and identifies options to improve access to health care for new Ontarians. Wellesley Institute’s Policy Briefs draw on our research […]

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Citizenship and Health

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What role can citizenship play in the social determinants of health? Research shows that becoming a citizen has important economic and social benefits that could result in positive health outcomes for individuals and society. These positive health outcomes are at play through a few key social determinants of health. They work through income, employment, and […]

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Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.