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Facilitators to accessing primary and preventive care for immigrants and refugees in Canada

Immigrants and refugees often have poor access to health care compared to the general population and lower rates of primary care and mental health care use compared to the Canadian-born population. This literature review summarizes key Canadian evidence in facilitating access to primary and preventive health care for immigrants and refugees. The results highlight the effectiveness of interprofessional and team-based care models in serving immigrant and refugee populations, the importance of peer-based support to address social, cultural and language barriers and leveraging the networks of community-based organizations that serve these diverse populations for outreach and system navigation. There is a need for more rigorous evaluation of targeted interventions that improve care for immigrant and refugee populations and have been adapted for different settings. This can support the development of evidence informed strategies and policies that advance the health of diverse of immigrant and refugee populations.

 

Facilitators to accessing primary and preventive careDownload
Anjana Aery

Anjana Aery

Anjana holds a Master of Public Health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. In the past she has worked in research and policy at the Centre for Urban Health Solutions (formerly Centre for research on Inner City Health) at St. Michael’s Hospital, Access Alliance Community Health Centre and the World Health Organization. She has extensive research and evaluation experience in mental health services, immigrant and refugee health and employment security. She has also collaborated with many community organizations in Toronto. She is passionate about advocating for marginalized communities to address inequities in health. She is interested in healthy public policy, women’s health and community-based participatory research.