Social Support Available in Health Emergencies for an Official Language Minority Community: Understanding the needs for healthcare and social resources among African Francophone Immigrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic in British Columbia

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing barriers to accessing healthcare and social resources, leading to increased disparities among and within minority groups. Despite various studies addressing those pandemic inequities, there is still a gap in the literature in understanding the effects of the pandemic among francophones living in linguistic minorities, a population that already faced challenges in accessing healthcare services and social support resources. With recent immigration policies attracting French speaker immigrants, this is an increasingly diverse community. In order to focus on an underrepresented population in research about francophones in a linguistic minority, I propose to study the social support needs of African francophone immigrants living in British Columbia (BC) during the COVID-19 pandemic - social support being any need for information and any emotional, financial, or health assistance offered or obtained from institutions, relatives, friends, or the Internet. The goal of the proposed research is to understand how African francophone immigrants asked for and received (or not) different kinds of social support during the pandemic. With the help of partner organizations - RésoSanté and Centre d'intégration pour immigrants Africains - I will hold interviews with francophone immigrants from Africa who needed social support during the COVID-19 pandemic in BC. This study will generate knowledge to inform the enhancement or development of resources to target the needs of this specific population in health emergencies, addressing inequities in accessing healthcare and social support resources in such a context. The proposed research will therefore contribute to improving resilience and preparedness for future health emergencies in BC, and potentially across Canada. Results will be disseminated in scientific conferences and journals and shared back with communities after consulting them on how they would like to be engaged.