Tag: Immigrants and newcomers

Routine practice, big impact

April 28, 2025 • By Fozia Tanveer

What if a simple change in routine could save lives? For many immigrants to Canada, access to timely healthcare isn’t just a matter of convenience – it’s a matter of survival. Some immigrants are up to four times more likely to have hepatitis C than the Canadian average, and up to six times more likely to have hepatitis B. But because their risk factors are usually different from those born in Canada, they are often overlooked in Canadian screening programs. Enter CATIE’s Routine Practice campaign, designed to change the way Canadian healthcare providers approach viral hepatitis screening. By blending data-driven...

Uncovering gaps in hepatitis B and C services for immigrants and newcomers: A new report from Action Hepatitis Canada

May 22, 2024 • By Jennifer van Gennip

Immigrants and newcomers make up almost a quarter of Canada’s population, contributing enormously to the social, cultural, and economic vitality of our country. To ensure Canada upholds its commitment to the well-being of newcomers and the strength of our diverse communities, it’s essential to prioritize equitable access to healthcare. This not only safeguards the individual health and dignity of newcomers but also nurtures the resilience and prosperity of our society as a whole. Ensuring equitable healthcare means acknowledging that immigrants may have distinct needs due to cultural and linguistic barriers or other social determinants of health. They may also be...

Reaching out to immigrant communities during the pandemic and beyond

July 5, 2022 • By Fozia Tanveer

For more than a decade, the program’s two-pronged community development and social marketing strategy had demonstrated success in reaching these diverse communities across Ontario. However, in early 2020, we were forced back to the drawing board.

Talking about hepatitis C with immigrants and newcomers to Canada

July 7, 2021 • By Fozia Tanveer

In Canada, one in three people affected by hepatitis C was born outside of the country. Hepatitis C prevalence among Canadian immigrants and newcomers is double the overall Canadian prevalence. Research also shows that immigrants and newcomers experience worse health outcomes from viral hepatitis and liver cancer when compared to the Canadian-born population, including higher rates of hepatocellular carcinoma and mortality rates from viral hepatitis and liver cancer that are two to four times higher. Talking to Canadian immigrants about hepatitis C becomes very important given the fact that they are a population at risk of disease.

Making health equity a priority: Ensuring secure and dignified access to COVID-19 vaccines

May 31, 2021 • By Nadjla Banaei

It is estimated that there are up to 500,000 undocumented residents in Canada, many of whom are Ontario residents. Many of these individuals are our neighbours, colleagues, friends, childcare providers and essential workers, including healthcare heroes working the front lines. They are valuable members of our society who contribute in various ways including, but not limited to, paying taxes, maintaining our food supply, taking care of our children and elderly and supporting our healthcare system. Despite Toronto being named a sanctuary city, we live in a city and province that continues to exclude migrants and undocumented residents from many basic...

Here’s how service providers can support immigrants and newcomers during COVID-19

May 10, 2021 • By Meghan Perrin and Christopher Hoy

This April 2021, the Alliance for Healthier Communities and CATIE hosted a webinar on community health approaches to supporting immigrants and newcomers in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our speakers explored how inequities have a pronounced impact on immigrants and newcomers during the pandemic, and what frontline workers can do to mitigate these impacts. Here are five key takeaways shared during the webinar that service providers can implement now.