Newcomer-centric research and healthcare

Over the past 25 plus years, I have been working in health care in Quebec, raising awareness of the need for cultural sensitivity and safety for disenfranchised and socioculturally diverse groups, particularly newcomers. I have seen an evolution in how researchers attempt to study these marginalized communities. Most notably, it has become evident that if we want to do population research on these groups, and to develop newcomer-centric health care services, it is more efficient to bring the researchers to the communities instead of trying to bring the communities to the researchers. When researchers go out into these communities, they glean more knowledge about the numerous complex sociocultural dimensions of newcomers.

As many newcomers settle into our communities, they gradually and steadily rebuild their lives and create new connections that redefine the homes they left behind. There can be entire villages living in one apartment building. In their newly-formed neighbourhoods, one can find the local daycare, the village doctor, the spiritual healer, the elder’s counsel, the system navigator – usually the person who has the best command of the local language, the teacher, and other roles that may be relevant to the specific culture. These social constructs and relationships are key to tailoring the delivery of health and social services to the needs of each community.

Seeta Ramdass, N4 Team