Grant: Planning Grants - PA: Community-based Primary Healthcare

Canadians with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) are a vulnerable population; they have a higher prevalence of physical and mental disorders, and poorer health outcomes. Appropriate care to address their complex healthcare needs is currently not provided due to systemic barriers related to health literacy, communication with healthcare professionals, time restrictions and inadequate practitioner knowledge. Furthermore, insufficient coordination and collaboration between health and social services impacts access, quality and continuity of primary healthcare and chronic disease management. The applicants, who have over a decade of experience documenting these disparities in health and developing innovative approaches to address them, will bring together other researchers, service providers and policy makers from across 4 provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia) to develop a programmatic team grant application to engage in a comprehensive evaluation of community-based primary health care initiatives for adults with IDD. The team building activities will rely on a review of current policy across provinces, an environmental scan, provincial consultations, and an interprovincial team meeting.