Chinese-Canadian residents of Ottawa gathered recently at Jack Purcell Community Centre for the first of three “chronic disease risk” screening programs for immigrant populations hosted by the Centretown Community Health Centre.
Christina Marchant, director of community health promotion and early years at the CCHC, said the program is intended to address Type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses among immigrant groups that are at high risk.
During the Jack Purcell event on Nov. 23, sessions were set up across the room where visitors could receive information and be screened.
“We’re also training health care providers on how to start delivering culturally sensitive care,” Marchant said. “So what kinds of questions do these practitioners need to ask when they are working with somebody who comes from a different culture, who may not understand the health care system and … some of the barriers they have seen.”
The program is the first of its kind in Ottawa. It was modeled on a pilot project, called SCREEN, which took place last year.
“There are smiling faces, lots of nods, and there’s a really high level of energy in the room,” said Marchant. “Just the number of people who keep coming in is a good indication that there is a good response.”
A volunteer at the event who took part in the screening, Kianwei Qian, said she never thought she was at risk of developing diabetes. But after completing the sessions had she learned that she was, in fact, at high risk.
“Many of the patients are surprised that they are at high risk because they think they are fine,” Qian said. “Now that I have this information, I’m going to exercise more.”
Most of the visitors at the event spoke little English, so pamphlets and other information were available in Chinese.
“Imagine shopping in a supermarket and you’re looking at a label but you cannot read the label because it’s written in a language that you cannot read. Or you’re working with a health care provider and you’re trying to understand how to look after your health, but you don’t really understand what that provider is saying,” Marchant said.
Interpreters are very important, noted Qian.
“I am interpreter and I do it as a volunteer because it keeps me healthy and it makes me feel good,” she said.
Marchant said that, on average, many immigrants are in better health before their arrival to Canada.
“They face the stressors of adapting to a new country, the stressors of unemployment or not being able to find work in their fields, the stressors of the food that is available in Canada, and the increased social isolation, all of which can combine as risk factors,” said Marchant.
“If we, over the long term, start with changing some of the systems that are supporting — or not so much supporting — our immigrant populations, that will, in turn, reduce their risk of developing diabetes and other chronic diseases.”
Working with the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership, the CCHC looked at health trends and immigration trends to select large communities that are at high risk of developing diabetes, Marchant said.
“We have a couple of smaller events planned for the Arabic community in December and January, and then there is a larger event planned for the Franco-African Community in February.”
Said Qian: “It’s very important for other cultural communities to have similar programs. I think it would be very beneficial.”