Jackson Andrew Smith, MA; Jean de Dieu Basabose, PhD; Margaret Brockett, EdD, BSR (OT); Dillon Thomas Browne, Ph.D., CPsych; Sandy Shamon, MD, CCFP (PC); Michael Stephenson, MD
Corresponding Author: Dillon Thomas Browne, PhD, CPsych; University of Waterloo. Email: dillon.browne@uwaterloo.ca
Section: Family Medicine & The Health Care System
| FULL PDF | | APPENDICES |
Certain members of society are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the added strain being placed on already overextended healthcare systems. In this article, we focus on refugee newcomers. We outline vulnerabilities refugee newcomers face in the context of COVID-19, including barriers to accessing healthcare services, disproportionate rates of mental health concerns, financial constraints, racism, and higher likelihoods of living in relatively higher density and multigenerational dwellings. Additionally, we describe the response to COVID-19 by a community-based refugee primary health centre in Ontario, Canada. This includes how the clinic has initially responded to the crisis as well as recommendations for providing services to refugee newcomers as the COVID-19 crisis evolves. Recommendations include: (1) considering social determinants of health in the new context of COVID-19; (2) providing services through a trauma-informed lens; (3) increasing focus on continuity of health and mental health care; and (4) mobilization of International Medical Graduates for triaging patients based on COVID-19 symptoms; and (5) diversifying communication efforts to educate refugees about COVID-19.