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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Anjana Aery

Innovations to Champion Access to Primary Care for Immigrants and Refugees

Patient files lined up in a row

Connecting with the health care system is an important part of the settlement process when moving to Canada from another country. For those who grew up in Canada, we don’t always realize how complex navigating the system for the first time can be.

To promote good health and address their health care needs we need to ensure immigrants and refugees to Canada have the best possible access to primary care and preventative care services so health conditions do not get worse. A one-size-fits-all approach to program and service delivery is not sufficient to respond to the growing and diverse needs of immigrants and refugees who arrive from different countries with unique languages, cultures, norms and migration histories.

This think piece emphasizes the importance of equitable access to care and explores promising practices and strategies to improving health care access for immigrants and refugees in the GTA.

Innovations to champion access to primary care for immigrant and refugees

Download Innovations to champion access to primary care for immigrant and refugees
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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. AnjanaAery

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.