Due to British Columbia’s (BC) relative proximity to Asia, BC experiences a great influx of immigrants from Asia. Over 250,000 immigrants migrate to Canada annually, and approximately 35,000 of those arrive in British Columbia (BC), making up a high proportion of the population in BC.(1-4) New immigrant’s combination of language barriers and low oral health literacy can create a challenge in an oral health setting. As primary health providers, it is important to be aware of this populations health needs and come along side them to provide assistance in navigating Canada’s healthcare system.
During my second year, I chose to plan and implement an initiative at the ISS of BC’s English Language Services for Adults (ELSA) Program for my community rotation. ISS of BC is a non-profit organization aimed to assist new immigrants and refugees assimilate in Canada and the ELSA program achieves this by offering English language training program that provides basic and intermediate level English classes for adult immigrants and refugees. In addition to attaining English skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, the students also learned about Canadian culture, community resources, healthy living and the Canadian job market.
My team and I educated the students about the importance of oral health, differentiating between a health and unhealthy mouth, methods to maintain oral health, communicating with a dental profession and presented reduce cost clinics. Due to the language barrier between the students and myself I had to speak slowly and use hand gestures and pictures to ensure they grasped the concepts and hand skills. My team and I were able to test their understanding and increase their English literacy by through role play and hands on activities.
- Provincial Health Services Authority. Towards reducing health inequities: a health system approach to chronic disease prevention. Vancouver (BC): Population & Public Health, Provincial Health Services Authority; 2011.
- Health Officers Council of BC. Health inequities in British Columbia: discussion paper. Vancouver (BC): Public Health Association of BC; 2008.
- Canadavisa.com. Canadian Immigration Information – British Columbia [Internet]. 2015 [cited 10 April 2016]. Available from: http://www.canadavisa.com/about-british-columbia.html
- Www12.statcan.gc.ca. Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity in Canada [Internet]. 2014 [cited 10 April 2016]. Available from: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-010-x/99-010-x2011001-eng.cfm