REAC! Responsiveness of the care of newcomers to the COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal, Sherbrooke and Toronto: a mixed participatory research

Google translate:Migrant populations are among the groups most likely to have poor health. In Canada, the institutional management of the health and social services needs of these populations is supplemented by the action of community organizations. In Quebec and Ontario, they intervene in several sectors: psychosocial support, housing, food security, and job search. COVID-19 has disrupted the way these organizations operate, forcing them to adopt new ways of serving their beneficiaries in order to comply with the measures in place. This research is taking place in Montreal, Sherbrooke and Toronto, in the first two migrant-receiving provinces in Canada - and which are the most affected by COVID-19. Our study includes community stakeholders as well as policy makers and managers of health and social services networks (RSSS) in the research process. It concerns the actions implemented by them in the context of the pandemic. Three objectives are targeted: 1) to shed light on the innovations that emerge from the adaptation of the services of community organizations and the RSSS, 2) to study the needs of the beneficiaries, 3) to support the integration of promising innovations promoting intersectoral collaboration ( community-RSSS). To reach them, we will conduct interviews with officials and stakeholders, and surveys and focus groups with beneficiaries. The involvement of different partners, including the beneficiaries themselves, gives this research a significant social impact. Lessons learned from promising innovations are indeed likely to improve care beyond the context of the pandemic: decision-makers would benefit from relying more on this experience to provide appropriate, well-funded and culturally sensitive care.]