Healthcare Service Needs for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Residents with Precarious Immigration Status in Canada – A Scoping Review (2025) 

What is this research about? 

This article examines the trends of influx, healthcare service needs and challenges of refugees, refugee claimants, and residents with precarious immigration status in Canada. Researchers wanted to understand trends and identify unique refugee healthcare and wellbeing needs. Researchers focused on Ontario which receives 50% of Canada’s immigrants.   

What do you need to know? 

Canada is a welcoming host country. But access to health services remains inconsistent between immigrants and Canadian-born populations. Researchers identified the need for targeted healthcare services that meet the needs of refugee, refugee claimant, and residents with precarious immigrant status. This group experiences social disparities, including vulnerable socio-economic status, food insecurity, social exclusion, and resettlement stressors. These are compounded by trust issues, cultural recognition, and linguistic barriers.  

What did the researchers find? 

The study revealed several key findings about healthcare challenges and needs. Communities need to support increasing numbers of refugees while understanding their needs. Government support is needed to strengthen local services. 

 Healthcare Access and Chronic Conditions:  

• This group has a higher prevalence of chronic diseases including anemia, diabetes, and high blood pressure. 
• They experience significant barriers to healthcare access including inadequate cancer screening, suboptimal chronic hepatitis management, and a higher prevalence of chronic diseases and mental health issues. 

Mental Health Issues:  

• This group underutilizes psychiatric care due to a lack of service awareness, cultural stigma, and language barriers. 
• At the same time, they have a higher prevalence of mood disorders, anxiety, depression, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

Social Disparities:  

• This group has a vulnerable socioeconomic status, increased by food insecurity and social exclusion. 
• Resettlement stressors are multiplied by trust issues and a lack of cultural competence in healthcare provision. 

What did the researchers do? 

The researchers conducted a rigorous scoping review following these methods:  

• Used structured scoping review principles and Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA—ScR) model. 
• Reviewed peer-reviewed articles from databases over the last 10 years. 
• Conducted an environmental scan of government reports and documents. 
• Focused on Canada and countries with comparable economies and immigration laws. 
• Initial search yielded 1,093 articles, narrowed to 560 after screening. 
• Data was thematically analyzed. 

How can you use this research? 

Settlement Service Provides: 

• Expand culturally competent services, improve accessibility, integrate mental health into settlement programs, and support community-based interventions leading to long-term care and building resilience. 
• Work with healthcare providers to increase health service awareness and system navigation in culturally relevant and appropriate ways.  

Healthcare Providers:  

• Develop targeted healthcare services meeting identified needs.  
• Improve cultural competency in healthcare provision. 
• Enhance awareness of unique challenges faced by refugees. 

Policymakers:  

• Fund longitundinal studies to track the health progress, and health service needs and utilization of refugees, refugee claimants, and residents with precarious immigration status.  
• Develop infrastructure and health promotion-based public policy that targets these groups. 
• Strengthen service funding with appropriate resources to improve the accessibility of healthcare services. 

Researchers:  

• Conduct more focused and culturally appropriate research. 
• Partner with grassroots organizations to foster community engagement, involve them in decision-making, and ensure culturally relevant policy reforms. 
• Study long-term health outcomes of refugee populations. 

Study authors and journal/book name 

Authors: Akm Alamgir, Madona Yahia, Susan Mary Pradhan, Axelle Janczur, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services. 

Publication: Journal of Scientific Research and Reports, 2025 – Volume 31 [Issue 1] (original link) 

Related Access Alliance Activities 

Resilience Mechanisms and Coping Strategies for Forcibly Displaced Youth – An Exploratory Rapid Review (2024) 
This study examines resilience mechanisms and coping strategies of forcibly displaced youth (FDY) in Canada, focusing on their health, well-being, and integration into host communities. 

Impact of Social Isolation on Refugee Children and Youth 
This project looked at the impact of social isolation on refugee youth in Toronto (Canada) as well as their coping mechanisms to overcome the adverse effects on their health and wellbeing. 

Impact of Family Loss and Separations on Refugee Youth 
This study examines how experiences of loss, disappearance or protracted separation of one or more family members due to war, conflict, and forced migration affect refugee children/youth and their families in terms of post-migration settlement and wellbeing. The project also seeks to build evidence on what kinds of services and supports can promote the wellbeing of these refugee children/youth and their families. 

Mental Health Issues Affecting Refugee Youth in Canada who Experienced Family Loss and Separation in their Country of Origin 
This article explores the key mental health problems affecting unaccompanied refugee youth in Canada who experienced family loss and separation in their country of origin. 

Mental Health Determinants for Immigrant and Refugee Youth 
The Newcomer Youth Mental Health project focused on social determinants of mental health and wellbeing for immigrant and refugee youth through two key community-based research projects.