• English
• Français
• Deutsch
• Español
• 

Live

Vancouver, Canada

Promoting Healthy Living In Multicultural Communities: The Multicultural Health Fair

AMSSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC)

Bringing together health providers and new immigrants for better access to services

Jenipher arrived to Vancouver, BC from a small town in Kenya 11 years ago. Despite the availability of Canada’s universal and free health care system, there were other hurdles that made it feel to her like, “It was a ‘have vs. have not’ health care system,” she remembers.

Language barriers, a lack of information on how the system actually works, nervousness and confusion about practical access meant that Jenipher, like many new immigrants had great difficulty actually obtaining the medical resources they need.

For instance, unable to find a long term health provider, many new immigrants simply use walk-in clinics for years. If language is an issue, then re-explaining medical history can be difficult and along the way, issues may be overlooked. In addition, despite availability preventive check ups are ignored and instead, walk in clinics and emergency rooms become the first point of contact to the system.

Jenipher estimates she saw over 15 different doctors in 4 years. She knows of refugees who have had to tell “the same difficult story, over and over, to different doctors every time they go in.” Their struggling English only makes them feel more uncomfortable and as a result, they never get a chance to develop a history and a relationship with their health care providers.

To overcome these barriers and provide new immigrants with the information they need to take charge of their health and that of their families, the AMSSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies) developed and launched Multicultural Health Fair in 2005.

The Multicultural Health Fair is a free community event that brings together representatives and volunteers from ethnic communities across Vancouver to provide health care information to new immigrants in fun and easy to access ways. The focus of the fair is: accessible information. As a result, all exhibitors are required to have interactive health screenings and/or displays at their booth, all printed information must be available in English and at least two of the selected fair languages: Punjabi, Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Farsi or Taglog. Although not required, exhibitors are strongly encouraged to also have booth representatives that can speak one of the selected fair languages.

Background…
A 2005 study by Statistics Canada found that while immigrants generally arrive with better health than the Canadian born, as time passes this “healthy immigrant effect” tends to diminish. In part these health problems may be due to the stress of immigration itself which involves finding suitable employment and establishing a new social support network. However, the ability of the newcomer to effectively identify and access preventative care also plays a role in this decline.

The first Multicultural Health Fair took place in 2005. The goal was to address these issues by bringing information providers and new immigrant communities together and helping BC’s multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic communities to become empowered about the way they live and their health.

Since then, the event has grown so much that last year’s fair was the largest multicultural health fair in Canada. It is now a regular community event that takes place every Feb/March. Attendance is free and exhibitors includes well-established agencies such as Diabetes Information and Support Centre, the BC Cancer Agency, Healthy Eating Active Living as well as over forty five other organizations –all promoting their services, in multi-languages, from well-marked their fair booths.

The event mixes information and preventative care. Activities include healthy cooking demonstrations where traditional recipes are “re-written” to be lower in sugar, fat and salt. The “Health Services in Vancouver” Workshop, for example, provides step by step instructions on how to access basic health services. The workshop is presented in Mandarin, Farsi and Spanish. A health screening area allows visitors to have their blood pressure and blood sugar tested, learn about accessing dental services and have a fitness assessment.

The Multicultural Health Fairs are organised by the AMSSA, an affiliation of more than 80 multicultural agencies providing immigrant settlement and multicultural services in communities throughout British Columbia. In addition to bringing communities together, they create networking opportunities. The AMMSA creates networking opportunities, disseminates information, provides professional development and builds organizations capacities for all members.

At this years Multicultural Health Fair, Jenipher will be volunteering at Reach Community Centre’s booth, which focuses on diabetes awareness and the ease of testing and importance of early and regular check ups. “People don’t know. They think they have to get sick first!” At the Multicultural Health Fair, the booth provides free screenings to indicate if people have a natural tendency towards diabetes. “There is a misconception of too much sugar causing diabetes,” Jenipher says. “People who don’t read English won’t pick up something just to read, so what good are pamphlets?” Her booth displays easy-to-read pictures and translators that welcome and communicate with all members of the community. Jenipher says the group setting of the event helps people feel more comfortable and open with their questions.