2.C Settlement and Integration
C.5 How are physical, mental, and dental health treated?
(iv) What training and resources, if any, are available to healthcare providers working with refugees of different ethno-cultural and language backgrounds?
How Canada Does It
Healthcare providers can access a wide range of training and web resources for working with refugees offered free of charge. Resources include practical guides and toolkits, accredited online courses, monthly webinars, e-newsletters, and online communities of practice with access to subject matter experts. The Canadian Collaboration for Immigrant and Refugee Health as well as the Canadian Pediatric Society have developed resources for clinicians.
Canada partners with non-governmental and settlement service providing organizations to develop resources to facilitate the settlement and integration of refugees. This includes projects that aim to build settlement, social, and health service providers' knowledge and skills regarding refugee mental health and to promote inter-sector and inter-professional collaboration.
The Welcoming Syrian Refugee Initiative prompted further development and refinement of existing tools and resources in Canada to support culturally sensitive and evidence-based approaches to meeting health needs. In some locations, social services providers and medical interpreters were enlisted to enable Syrians to access healthcare and explain their needs.