Through two $1.5 million team grants funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research(CIHR), uOttawa researchers are using their interdisciplinary expertise and forging collaborations across institutions to address barriers faced by official language minority communities in Canada.
“These CIHR-funded projects exemplify the power of research to drive meaningful change for underserved communities,” says Julie St-Pierre, interim vice-president, research and innovation. “By addressing the unique challenges faced by official language minority communities, our researchers are not only advancing equity in health care but also reinforcing our commitment to fostering inclusion and collaboration across Canada. This innovation transforms lives and strengthens the fabric of our society.”
A hopeful, innovative project to improve equity in health care for Francophones across Canada
This research project, led by Sébastien Savard in partnership with Louise Bouchard and Mathieu Lizotte from the University of Ottawa, is a revolutionary initiative that will fund a 19-member team of professors and researchers, along with eight institutional partners. It will aim to evaluate and improve health-care system performance, particularly with respect to equitable access and adapted services, in order to better meet the needs of Francophone communities in minority language settings in Canada.
“This project lays the groundwork for the creation of a centre of excellence in research on the health and well-being of Francophones in minority language settings.”
Sébastien Savard
— Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences
The project involves three key steps: it will analyze the demand and needs of Francophone populations and the offer of health-care services in French; determine the impact of health-care policies and practice models on access to services; and mobilize and apply the knowledge acquired.
This project will be based on proven evaluation frameworks, thus taking an innovative approach in order to bridge current gaps in evidence-based data. The researchers will document the availability of services in French and the bilingual human resources in various health-care sectors in different regions, as well as the mechanisms that can help match bilingual health-care providers with Francophone health-care users.
Thanks to a platform that displays the geographic aspects of the data, the research team will identify disparities in access to care and propose concrete solutions to better match current services with the needs of Francophone communities.
“The proposed research will bridge the very wide gaps in evidence-based data. What’s more, we’ll be able to access this information on a data visualization platform.”
Louise Bouchard
— Professor Emerita, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences
In addition to generating relevant data, this project will motivate an interdisciplinary team and community partners to translate the results into tangible actions. By incorporating the conditions specific to these communities, the team aims to shape public policy to create a health-care system that is fairer, more inclusive, and better adapted to Francophones in minority language settings.
The impact of this research promises to be significant: more robust health-care systems, communities that are better served, and more equitable access to health care. This is a key step in recognizing language rights, and in improving quality of life, for members of Francophone communities in minority language settings across the country. A project that carries the seeds of hope and innovation!
Breaking barriers: Advancing equitable health care for Quebec’s English-speaking communities
Language barriers in health care can lead to adverse outcomes, disproportionately affecting Quebec’s English-speaking minority, including immigrants, racialized groups and Indigenous communities. However, there is a lack of population-level evidence on the impact of language discordance in health-care delivery in Quebec.
Given that these communities are historically underserved, gathering such evidence is crucial for informing policies and designing targeted interventions to address the potential harms of language barriers.
"My parents immigrated to Quebec when I was a child. Growing up, I often acted as a translator in health-care settings for my parents and other community members," says Sathya Karunananthan, assistant professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences.
“These early experiences made me acutely aware of the potential impact of language barriers on health care. This team grant is an opportunity to document and address these barriers.”
Sathya Karunananthan
— Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences
Harnessing the expertise of a multidisciplinary team, the project has three pillars. The first focuses on the lived experiences of English-speaking patients and health-care providers, giving voice to those who have faced barriers and creating targeted solutions through community-driven surveys and interviews.
The second pillar involves building data infrastructure that leverages local, provincial and national databases, enabling a deep dive into how language affects health outcomes across diverse groups, including rural, racialized and immigrant populations.
The third pillar involves evaluating health-care policies and interventions to see what works, providing a living repository of tools to improve language-concordant care.
This initiative will culminate in an atlas on the health of Quebec English-speaking communities, a comprehensive resource highlighting disparities and solutions. Beyond academic insight, the initiative aims to inform policy, empower communities and improve health-care access and outcomes for English-speaking Quebecers.
By fostering collaboration with community organizations, policymakers and health-care providers, this research seeks to create a future where every resident, regardless of language, receives the care they need to thrive.
