Grant: Project Grant

Access to health care is a recognized challenge in Canada, particularly in the north. For residents of remote communities in the Northwest Territories (NWT), basic health services are provided through a nurse-based primary care model, supported by visiting doctors and telehealth services. Residents who require more than basic primary care must travel to services that are only available in regional centres, or in southern provinces. Accessing these services can involve lengthy wait times, as well as long distance travel and time away from home communities, family and social support networks for weeks at a time. In this project, Dr Sharma and her team, alongside communities, plan to: 1) Collect evidence through interviews with residents of 3 communities - Yellowknife, Inuvik, and Fort Good Hope - regarding the availability, use, and experiences with healthcare services, including local care and medical travel; 2) Conduct interviews with community leaders and healthcare providers to identify barriers to, and opportunities for, improving access to and experience with health services; 3) Discuss findings with the communities through sharing circles and together identify priority areas for action; 4) Develop, implement, and evaluate a community-led education and advocacy program to improve access to and experience with health services; and 5) Finalize and share materials and findings with community, territorial, and national organizations.