Funding outcome

Canada is committed to responding to the diverse needs of refugees. However, refugee children (birth to 5 years) present complex and unique health issues such as trauma, meningitis, malnutrition and developmental delays that if left untreated can persist throughout their lifetime. They therefore require timely comprehensive healthcare for long term positive health outcomes. The New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC) in Edmonton addresses this critical need by providing culturally safe integrated healthcare grounded in principles of social justice, equity and inclusion. Using a community-engaged approach, the impact of NCHC's culturally safe model on refugee children's health outcomes will be explored. The research will capture child health outcomes, and the perspectives of caregivers and healthcare providers using both numeric and narrative data. Firstly, the research will review existing literature on how refugee children's health outcomes are assessed in Canada. Secondly, an analysis of children's health data from the NCHC to determine their health outcomes will be done. Finally, interviews will be conducted with caregivers and health providers to explore how the NCHC is improving the physical health outcomes of children. All phases of the research will be done collaboratively with participants and the NCHC; from determining child health outcomes to participant recruitment, data collection, analysis to the dissemination of findings The findings will enhance our understanding of the impact of the NCHC's model on child health, inform critical gaps in refugee children's healthcare provision, and contribute to broader knowledge on community-engaged research in healthcare.