2025/06/21 by Ali, Farzana, Leis, Anne
#Ethnic Minority #Immigrant #Newcomer #Racialized #Visible Minority
paper · doi:10.11575/prism/49614
Background: Despite patient engagement becoming mainstream, the literature suggests that immigrants tend to be less engaged in their care. The power differential between patients and providers seems to be much wider for immigrants. Especially immigrant women across age and social positions often experience multiple barriers to healthcare. These obstacles are mostly due to the social determinants of health, often linked to language, ethnicity, culture, religion, limited access to services and so on. This community-based research (CBR) study aims to understand how immigrant women perceive the notion of "patient engagement", and how their experiences with health services in Saskatoon have shaped it. Methods: This patient-orientated study is participatory in nature where immigrant women and patient/family advisors are active members of the research team. A semi-structured interview was codesigned, pilot tested, and implemented to distill experiences and perspectives from immigrant women of diverse backgrounds in Saskatoon. Results: Based on the interviews (n= 25), different patterns, similarities and/or differences have been emerging from the perspectives shared by immigrant women. Regardless of their differences in background, the participants appeared to share somewhat similar experiences with healthcare, particularly with navigating within the Canadian healthcare system and struggling with the language barrier. Conclusion: In any CBR study, the process is as important as the outcome. At the end of this study, a patient engagement model will be co-developed along with the community members to ensure it is appropriate for cross-cultural patients and reflects participants’ perspectives.