Immigrant Health and Well-being Theme
Josephine Wong is a Co-lead of the Immigrant Health and Well-being Theme under the Bridging Divides Research. Toronto Metropolitan University is leading this seven-year, $98.6-million research project, which also involves researchers from the University of British Columbia, Concordia University, and the University of Alberta. The program is proudly funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
The “Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides” research program is an initiative dedicated to forging a revitalized comprehension of the multifaceted challenges and opportunities associated with migrant integration in Canada and globally. This interdisciplinary research endeavor aspires to pioneer in areas encompassing citizenship, civic participation, the evolving landscape of work, healthcare, and the ethical utilization of cutting-edge technologies, notably artificial intelligence, which is revolutionizing our societal interactions and work-life dynamics. By adopting an intersectional lens, the program aims to contemporize global immigration policies, fostering urban landscapes that resonate with equity, resilience, and inclusivity for migrants. The emphasis will be predominantly on urban settings, spanning both large metropolises and small to mid-sized cities, which traditionally serve as the primary destinations for both new and settled immigrants.
There are four themes under Bridging Divides: Immigrant Health and Well Being, Employment and Life Long Learning, Place and Infrastructure, and Citizenship & Participation.
Immigrant Health and Well Being Theme
Canada’s immigration policies typically welcome individuals who exhibit younger, better-educated, and healthier profiles than their Canadian-born peers, giving rise to the “healthy immigrant effect.” Yet, these health benefits witnessed in immigrants wane over their residency duration. A predominant focus on mere “length of time in Canada” as an indicator of integration dismisses entrenched colonial power dynamics, from historical instances like residential schools to systemic racial biases and beyond. Such influences lead to exclusive policy formulations, setting the stage for unequal resource allocation and hurdles to genuine societal cohesion. Addressing these nuances demands innovative strategies that actively engage immigrant communities to identify needs, co-create solutions, and launch community-centric tools to mitigate health disparities.
Our research anchors itself in reconciliation, equity, access, and social justice ideals, accentuating the criticality of holistic health promotion. By merging life-course and social-ecological theories with social innovation, broad-based stakeholder engagement, capacity development, and collective empowerment, we are geared towards identifying and addressing systemic challenges or accelerators for immigrant health. Key research undertakings involve utilizing advanced digital technologies for augmenting health service provision, endorsing group singing as a mechanism for enhancing integration and holistic well-being among immigrant populations, and gleaning insights from Indigenous narratives on migration and integration in the healthcare milieu.
Theme Co-Lead: Josephine Wong, Elizabeth Saewyc
Theme Members: Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai, Arla Good, Sepali Guruge, Atefeh Mashatan, Elizabeth Onyango, Frank Russo, Mandana Vahabi, Sophie Yohani
Visit the https://www.torontomu.ca/bridging-divides/research/themes/immigrant-health-and-well-being/ for more detailed and updated information.