Grant: Catalyst Grant: Moving Upstream - Sex, Gender, and Health Inequities

Purpose: 1 To explore the impact of the structural determinants of health (SDoH) in accessing culturally responsive sexual reproductive health services (SRHS) in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Saskatchewan, and Alberta and 2 to develop and evaluate a tool to improve access to SRHS for female newcomers (FNC) to Canada. Background: making informed health decisions and accessing and utilizing culturally responsive SRHS is a fundamental right given Canada's legislative and legal standards. This is often not experienced by equity-deserving populations, including FNC to Canada. The profound and measurable benefits of attending to sexual and reproductive health are linked to gender equality and well-being, economic development, community stability, and environmental sustainability. With increasing immigration in Canada, particularly among FNC of reproductive age (15-49) settling in provinces outside of Ontario and British Columbia, the need to address access to SHRS has become pressing. Methodology: A community-based study with two phases. Objective 1 To explore current theoretical, experiential, and practical knowledge related to accessing SRHS for FNC (Phase 1). Phase 1 will utilize a) qualitative life-history interview to capture the strengths, struggles, life contexts, and SRHS experiences for FNC and b) policy analysis of federal and provincial policies that address SRH rights and access to care. Objective 2 To develop and evaluate an SRH media technology tool using participatory approaches to achieve greater access to services (Phase 2). Phase 2 will utilize the 'Fogo process', a participatory community media model to address community concerns and spark cultural change for access to culturally-responsive SRHS. Impact: This research will support FNC in sharing experiences, provide evidence on the SDoH inequities in Canada, and demonstrate a novel way to address the inequality while fostering connections and collaborations between researchers, FNC, and stakeholders.