Research in Canada and abroad has shown that newcomers face multiple obstacles in their search for health care during their resettlement and integration to the host society. In Ontario, primary care services are organized in three main models based on the remuneration scheme to physicians: fee for service, capitation, and salaried. During the Primary Care reforms in early 2000s, the province introduced new models of primary care practices to enhance the quality of care through the expansion of comprehensive multidisciplinary care, applying more preventive measures and enhanced chronic disease management strategies. Along with these innovative reforms, the province promoted an enrollment system with a family doctor in the primary care practices. This research examined the access of immigrants to the enrollment system in Ontario. A review of the literature contrasting a PMC and PHC approaches showed that the latter has more potential to address social determinants of health of immigrant populations. Taking into account the organization of health services in the province, immigrants can receive primary care services mainly through PMC practices (FFS and capitation-based), but also through PHC-type of models, such as Community Health Centers. The analysis of enrollment in primary care was conducted using a secondary analysis of administrative data. The main findings have shown that immigrants’ enrollment in primary care services has increased over time, but the levels of enrollment remain lower compared to long-term residents. Moreover, compared to long-term residents, immigrants have less access to the most comprehensive models of care, which represents an important inequity. In exploring the perceptions of immigrants in two major cities of the province, most of the participants perceived that important factors, such as information, knowledge, language barriers, cultural issues; are affecting their capacity to understand and navigate the system. Hence, it takes a long time for them to make sense and learn how to connect and use the system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/36571 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Batista, Ricardo |
| Contributors | Pottie, Kevin C., Tugwell, Peter |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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