Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Refugee children and families often have complex health needs (e.g., undiagnosed health conditions) requiring urgent, trauma-informed care. However, on top of language and cultural barriers, it can be challenging to navigate primary care services in Canada, which are often disconnected from other health and social services. The lack of accessible services can lead to worsened health outcomes and preventable system costs. In response to service fragmentation, community health centres have emerged and use a team-based model in which physicians and allied health professionals work together to provide integrated care. The New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC) in Edmonton provides integrated, team-based primary care to government assisted refugees (GARs). Integrated models have shown progress in meeting health needs; however, some studies find gaps in model performance and health outcomes. Therefore, this research will explore the role of integrated team-based primary care services in supporting GAR children and families, using the NCHC as a case site. This study will address: (1) How do integrated primary care services support GAR families? (2) What are the enablers and barriers to integrated team-based care in supporting GAR families? To answer these questions, a scoping review will be completed on literature documenting the effectiveness of integrated models in meeting refugee families' health needs. Next, a community-based participatory research study will be completed with NCHC partners and patients. Interviews will be completed with refugee parents with children (n=15) on their experiences with integrated primary care and with NCHC staff (physicians n=5, allied health professionals n=10, administration n=5) on enablers and barriers to inter-professional collaboration. This research will contribute to the development of effective integrated primary care to meet the needs of refugee families. The findings can be scaled up to guide integrated models across Canada.