Advancing Our Understanding of Dental Care Pathways of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Canada: A Qualitative Study

Nazik M. Nurelhuda, Mark T. Keboa, Herenia P. Lawrence, Belinda Nicolau and Mary Ellen Macdonald
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Nazik M. Nurelhuda: Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, 124 Edward St, Toronto, ON M5G 1G6, Canada
Mark T. Keboa: Faculty of Dentistry, 500-2001 McGill College, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1G1, Canada
Herenia P. Lawrence: Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, 124 Edward St, Toronto, ON M5G 1G6, Canada
Belinda Nicolau: Faculty of Dentistry, 500-2001 McGill College, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1G1, Canada
Mary Ellen Macdonald: Faculty of Dentistry, 500-2001 McGill College, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1G1, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: The burden of oral diseases and need for dental care are high among refugees and asylum seekers (humanitarian migrants). Canada’s Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides humanitarian migrants with limited dental services; however, this program has seen several fluctuations over the past decade. An earlier study on the experiences of humanitarian migrants in Quebec, Canada, developed the dental care pathways of humanitarian migrants model, which describes the care-seeking processes that humanitarian migrants follow; further, this study documented shortfalls in IFHP coverage. The current qualitative study tests the pathway model in another Canadian province. We purposefully recruited 27 humanitarian migrants from 13 countries in four global regions, between April and December 2019, in two Ontario cities (Toronto and Ottawa). Four focus group discussions were facilitated in English, Arabic, Spanish, and Dari. Analysis revealed barriers to care similar to the Quebec study: Waiting time, financial, and language barriers. Further, participants were unsatisfied with the IFHP’s benefits package. Our data produced two new pathways for the model: transnational dental care and self-medication. In conclusion, the dental care needs of humanitarian migrants are not currently being met in Canada, forcing participants to resort to alternative pathways outside the conventional dental care system.

Keywords: oral health; refugees; Canada; migrants; dental care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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