Categories: Healthcare Access & Equity

Mental Health Needs and Service Standards for Black Children and Youth 

Access Alliance is embarking on an important Community-based Research (CBR) project with African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities – From Policing to Public Health: A Data-Driven Framework for Culturally Concordant Mental Health and Non-Carceral Crisis Response for children and youth in Toronto. Led by the Director of the research department, Dr.

A Newcomer Health Plan for Ontario – the time is right

It is time to design, validate, and evaluate an equity-focused Newcomer Health Plan (NHP) in Ontario.

Why a Newcomer Health Plan?

Approximately 250,000 people immigrate to Canada annually, contributing to about two-thirds of the country’s annual population growth (1); and almost half of all new Canadians settled in Ontario in 2025 (2).

AccessTO – ensuring access for all

The City’s Access to City Services for Undocumented Torontonians (AccessTO) policy outlines that all Torontonians, regardless of immigration status, have the right to access City services without fear. Through the Toronto Newcomer Strategy 2022-2026, the ongoing implementation of the AccessTO policy remains a key priority.

In March 2025,

Opening doors for cancer screening in a downtown priority neighbourhood

Led by the University of Toronto’s Rosanra Yoon, Access Alliance is excited to be part of this new project: Open Door to Address Cancer Screening Hesitancy: a community-based co-design project to address cancer screening hesitancy in a downtown Toronto west priority neighbourhood.

Project focus

With funding support provided by the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research,

Understanding what Seniors need to know and communicate about medications – a health care system reality check

This joint project between the Access Alliance Research Department and the Open Door project focused on creating a new presentation for seniors about medication, medication compliance, medication use, medication reconciliation and review, why it is important to share accurate information about medication with providers, etc. We set out to build a workshop and simple tools to help seniors better understand and manage their medications.

Laying the Foundation – Individual, Community, and Systems-Level Impacts of the Community-Based Research Department

This report highlights the impacts of our Community-Based Research (CBR) Department’s activities on individuals, communities, and system-level policy changes. It provides a thorough examination of our commitment to our CBR framework, principles, and practices, including:

Research we have conducted in the last 10 years;

Research that catalyzed and used our CBR framework with academic partners;

The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Immigrants and Refugees with Chronic Illnesses 

This community-based research project delved into the compounded effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrants and refugees living with cancer, and mental health and addiction disorders. The study, a collaboration including Access Alliance, sought to understand the challenges faced by individuals at the intersection of social and clinical disadvantage during a public health crisis.

Understanding the Experiences of Patients Accessing our Primary Care Services

Project Overview

Our Client Experience Survey provides a glimpse into patient experiences with Access Alliance’s primary care services. Each year we collect patient feedback to ensure service accountability, quality improvement, and evidence-informed practices. Patients are asked to rate their service experience in five areas:  

Satisfaction 

Accessibility (including virtual services) 

Equity 

Client safety 

Conceptualizing a Pyramid Model on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for Non-Profits and Community Organizations 

Project Overview 

Organizations need to create inclusion strategies to achieve a sense of belonging among the clients and communities they serve. Understanding how Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) guides our work at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services (MCHS) is essential. This model provides an EDI framework specifically designed for non-profit organizations serving newcomers and marginalized communities.

Better Understanding for Better Health – 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) for Taylor-Massey Oakridge

Project Overview

Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services (Access Alliance) conducts  a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) in the immediate neighbourhood every five years to identify the community’s strengths, assets, concerns, and priority service needs. A CHNA serves as a foundational tool for community development. This helps us understand the programs and services needed.