568 - A Collaborative, Community-Based Health Centre to Address Refugee Health in Canada - The New Canadians Health Centre

Sep 30, 2026

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Refugees frequently face untreated health conditions that require timely access to care, yet in Canada connections to appropriate healthcare are often hindered by language barriers, limited culturally appropriate services, and physician shortages. The New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC), created through collaboration with a local settlement agency in western Canada, supports government-assisted refugees during their first year. This presentation evaluates the NCHC’s care model using community-based participatory research, combining document review and interviews with key informants.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Aims

Methods

Results

Conclusions

2nd World Congress on Migration, Ethnicity, Race & Health Abstract Book vi123 Abstract citation ID: ckaf180 .340 568 A Collaborative, Community-Based Health Centre to Address Refugee Health in Canada: The New Canadians Health Centre Astrid Velasquez1, Molly Whalen-Browne1, Soledad Gonzalez2, Laura Velasquez2, Jessica Haight4, Augustine Botwe3, Rebecca Gokiert4 1New Canadians Health Centre, Edmonton, Canada 2Catholic Social Services, Edmonton, Canada 3Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada 4School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada EP1.5, e-Poster Terminal 1, September 5, 2025, 13:05-13:40 Aims: Refugees often have untreated health conditions that require timely care. In Canada, settlement agencies support governmentassisted refugees during their first year; however, connecting them with needed healthcare can be difficult due to language barriers, a lack of culturally appropriate care, and a physician shortage. In response, specialized refugee health centres have increasingly emerged, including the New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC) in western Canada, which was established through a collaborative partnership with the local settlement agency. This presentation explores the establishment and role of such collaborative models in supporting refugee health. Methods: To evaluate the NCHC’s care model, a research partnership was formed with the Evaluation Capacity Network at the University of Alberta. Using a community-based participatory research approach, a document review and interviews with key informants involved in the NCHC’s early development were conducted. These data are supplemented by anecdotal insights from frontline staff to understand how the partnership was formed and how care is delivered. Results: This presentation will describe the collaborative partnership between the NCHC and a local resettlement agency in Edmonton to address refugees’ health needs. Frontline staff will share insights on: (1) local refugee health needs; (2) the process of building a settlement agency and health centre partnership; (3) the NCHC’s approach and model for addressing refugee health; and (4) emerging learnings from this partnership. Conclusions: This presentation will highlight practical insights into the development of community-driven partnerships between settlement and healthcare organizations and offer lessons for designing responsive models to better support refugee health globally.

FAQs

What problems does the presentation address regarding refugee health in Canada?

It focuses on untreated refugee health conditions and barriers to timely healthcare access, including language barriers, culturally inappropriate care, and physician shortages.

How was the New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC) care model evaluated?

Evaluation used community-based participatory research with document review and interviews with key informants involved in the NCHC’s early development.

What does the presentation’s results section cover?

It describes the collaborative partnership between the NCHC and a local resettlement agency in Edmonton, including local refugee health needs, how the partnership was built, and the NCHC model for addressing refugee health.

What broader impact or takeaway is highlighted in the conclusions?

It provides practical insights for designing community-driven partnerships between settlement and healthcare organizations to better support refugee health globally.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by McGucket