Determinants of sexual and reproductive health care for im/migrant women: a community-based mixed methods study to realize comprehensive primary care in BC

Primary care is key to a working health care system. Good primary care is based on relationships with a provider who knows a patient over time and sees the whole person in context, so they can address social needs that particularly impact the health of marginalized groups. Although im/migrants are a big part of the population in Canada, they have less access to good primary care. We use ‘im/migrant’ including all people that arrive in Canada from another country, including refugees, economic and undocumented im/migrants. Some groups (refugee claimants, precarious status) have even more limited access to primary care and may face worse health. This is especially true for im/migrant women of reproductive age. An important feature of primary care is sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, like contraception, cervical cancer screening, and pregnancy care. We can learn about and improve primary care for im/migrant women by looking at their experiences with SRH. Guided by im/migrant women, this project uses interviews and information from the health system to describe their SRH within primary care in BC. This will produce collaborative solutions for SRH in primary care that promote equity for im/migrant women and families in BC.