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Investigating the diversity of Canada’s refugee population and its health implications: does one size fit all?

Investigating the diversity of Canada’s refugee population and its health implications: does one... PurposeBased on a case study in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the purpose of this paper is to explore the difficulties faced by local health care providers in the face of constantly evolving refugee policies, programs, and arrivals. In doing so, it illustrates the complications faced by service providers in providing care to refugee arrivals and how the diversity of arrivals challenges health care provision and ultimately the health and well-being of refugees.Design/methodology/approachA series of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with key service professionals in both the social service and health fields in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, examined both health and health care issues.FindingsBeyond challenges for service providers that have been previously flagged in the literature, including language barriers and the limited time that they have with their clients, analysis revealed that health care providers faced other challenges in providing care, with one challenge reflecting the difficulty of providing care and services to a diverse refugee population. A second challenge reflected the lack of knowledge associated with constantly evolving policies and programs. Both challenges potentially limit the abilities of care providers.Research limitations/implicationsOn-going changes to refugee and health care policy, along with the diversity of refugee arrivals, will continue to challenge providers. The challenge, therefore, for health care providers and policy makers alike is how to ensure adequate service provision for new arrivals.Practical implicationsThe Federal government should do a better job in disseminating the impact of policy changes and should streamline programs. This is particularly relevant given limited budgets and resources, tri-partite government funding, short time-frames to prepare for new arrivals, inadequate background information, barriers/challenges or inequitable criteria for access to health and social services, while addressing an increasingly diverse and complex population.Social implicationsThe research reinforces the complexity of the needs and challenges faced by refugees when health is considered, and the difficulty in providing care to this group.Originality/valueWhile there is a large refugee health literature, there is relatively little attention to the challenges and difficulties faced by service providers in addressing the health needs of the diverse refugee population, a topic that is particularly important given limited funding envelopes, shifting policies and programs, and a focus on clients (refugees). It is this latter piece – the challenges faced by providers in providing care to refugees – which this paper explores. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Migration Health and Social Care Emerald Publishing

Investigating the diversity of Canada’s refugee population and its health implications: does one size fit all?

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References (54)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1747-9894
DOI
10.1108/IJMHSC-02-2015-0007
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeBased on a case study in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the purpose of this paper is to explore the difficulties faced by local health care providers in the face of constantly evolving refugee policies, programs, and arrivals. In doing so, it illustrates the complications faced by service providers in providing care to refugee arrivals and how the diversity of arrivals challenges health care provision and ultimately the health and well-being of refugees.Design/methodology/approachA series of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with key service professionals in both the social service and health fields in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, examined both health and health care issues.FindingsBeyond challenges for service providers that have been previously flagged in the literature, including language barriers and the limited time that they have with their clients, analysis revealed that health care providers faced other challenges in providing care, with one challenge reflecting the difficulty of providing care and services to a diverse refugee population. A second challenge reflected the lack of knowledge associated with constantly evolving policies and programs. Both challenges potentially limit the abilities of care providers.Research limitations/implicationsOn-going changes to refugee and health care policy, along with the diversity of refugee arrivals, will continue to challenge providers. The challenge, therefore, for health care providers and policy makers alike is how to ensure adequate service provision for new arrivals.Practical implicationsThe Federal government should do a better job in disseminating the impact of policy changes and should streamline programs. This is particularly relevant given limited budgets and resources, tri-partite government funding, short time-frames to prepare for new arrivals, inadequate background information, barriers/challenges or inequitable criteria for access to health and social services, while addressing an increasingly diverse and complex population.Social implicationsThe research reinforces the complexity of the needs and challenges faced by refugees when health is considered, and the difficulty in providing care to this group.Originality/valueWhile there is a large refugee health literature, there is relatively little attention to the challenges and difficulties faced by service providers in addressing the health needs of the diverse refugee population, a topic that is particularly important given limited funding envelopes, shifting policies and programs, and a focus on clients (refugees). It is this latter piece – the challenges faced by providers in providing care to refugees – which this paper explores.

Journal

International Journal of Migration Health and Social Care – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 12, 2017

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