Abstract:

Background:
As of July 2018, Canada had admitted more than 55,000 Syrian refugees, 80% of whom were women and children. Access to healthcare is an important part of the (re)settlement process for refugees. Access to health information through online platforms is being considered in order to facilitate access to healthcare services in a timely manner.

Purpose:
In this study, we explored the needs of Syrian newcomer women as they adapt to their new life in Canada. This paper presents the finding related to their experiences of using online sources of information for their health and wellbeing, and the factors that shaped whether and how they utilized such sources of health information and health education.

Method:
This community-based qualitative descriptive interpretive study involved focus groups with 58 Syrian newcomer women in the Greater Toronto Area. With participants’ consent, the discussions were audio-recorded, translated to English, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results:
Participants used the website we developed to address a range of health topics and relevant information, including how the healthcare system worked, what services were provided to them, as well as tips regarding nutrition, parenting, alternate medicine, and emotional care. They also used apps and social media to stay connected with one another, share their experiences with one another, and ask questions and learn from each other about the healthcare services available to women in the post-migration context in the new country. Factors that shaped their use of online information included trustworthiness of the source, whether and how their privacy would be maintained, the language fluency or lack thereof, skills required to use such sources as well as time required to access information.

Conclusions:
Considering that refugees often require access to healthcare and health information for a range of acute and chronic illnesses, online platforms should be considered for this purpose. User-friendly, trustworthy sources of health information could be provided in a timely manner to help refugee women take care of their own as well as that of their families in a timely manner.

Keywords:

Access to information, Canada, health education, newcomer women, online platforms, Syrian refugees, Toronto.