Grant: Health System Impact Embedded ECR Award-Indigenous Peoples' Health pool (3)

Across Ontario many individuals from different ethnic backgrounds face a higher rate of cardiovascular disease simply because of the conditions they were born into. Basic human necessities such as housing, water, employment, or education may not be present, creating a disproportionate burden for individuals living in these conditions. To better support the unique needs of the local community, it is important to not only understand the factors contributing to their health, but also what they define as health and healing. Clinical programs often focus on the use of medicine without considering how different cultures support their overall well-being. Digital tools can potentially be used to improve access to care, but they often are not used because of its complex design. This research program aims to work in partnership with rural and urban community organizations to develop a care pathway that provides community-first cardiac care services. Three core projects will be led by this program working directly with Indigenous and Black communities in Ontario. The first phase of each project will be focused on partnership building to help understand what each community views as priority. In collaboration with the community partners, the partnership goal and methods will be co-developed. In the second phase, community members and clinicians will be invited to share their stories through an interview. This will be followed up by a series of co-design workshops to identify the features for a cardiac care program. In the last phase, patients will be recruited to use the cardiac program services over 6 months. Using the findings from all three phases of each project, the vision of this research program is bring community and clinical resources together to help reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in ethnic communities.