Viewing the experience of accessing and navigating the BC health system through the eyes of a newcomer to the country provides fresh and important perspectives towards improving patient care. With a mandate to reduce cultural and linguistic barriers in the provision of health services, the Provincial Language Service (PLS) set out to better understand these perspectives, as viewed through the lens of the Francophone community.
As part of a two-year project developed through a funding agreement with Health Canada, “Community Engagement for Well-Being: Addressing the Health of French-Speaking Newcomer Families with Children and Youth in BC”, PLS engaged with newcomer families in select communities across the province. Over 100 immigrant and refugee parents and youth from French-speaking regions around the world participated in a consultation that spanned community kitchens, discussion groups, interviews and youth activities.
Through the consultation process, a picture emerged of the experiences and understandings around health and well-being that underlie many French-speaking newcomers’ expectations and patterns of accessing the health system, together with a view of the challenges they face in caring for their families’ health and navigating the system once in BC.
A report detailing the findings of this consultation process is now available online.
Building on the findings of the consultation, PLS will bring together health care professionals, community agencies and newcomer families for a dialogue event on November 30th: Healthcare, Wellbeing and Newcomer Families. This open exchange will explore challenges, gaps and opportunities related to health services provision to newcomer families.
Within the context of this collaborative approach, the project has engaged with a PHSA Population & Public Health Program initiative, Promoting Health Equity, which focuses on actions the health system can take towards improving health equity in vulnerable populations.
PLS continues to provide health resources, information and support to French speakers living in BC through its Francophone Services.