Language and psychosocial factors associated with post-graduate retention of anglophone health and social services students in Quebec

Language minorities often encounter language barriers when accessing health and social services. Specifically, anglophones in Quebec are a growing population but often report difficulties accessing these services and receiving personalized care due to language barriers. Many studies have explored the retention of healthcare and social service workers capable of delivering services in English. Results have shown that many anglophone students in these sectors choose to leave the province post-graduation. Thus, this study will investigate various key factors that may predict the retention of anglophone health and social service graduating students in Quebec. The results will enhance our understanding of why anglophone students choose to stay or leave the province. This knowledge will help develop programs aimed to incentivise anglophones to remain and work in the health and social services sectors in Quebec.

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Outputs:

• Loiselle, C.G., Durand, A. B., Monarque, M., Brown, T. L.. (manuscript In preparation). Predictive retention factors of English-speaking health and social service students graduating from an Anglophone Québec university.

• Brown, T. L., Durand, A., Monarque, M., & Loiselle, C. G. (2022, May). Language and psychosocial factors associated with post-graduate retention of anglophone health and social services students in Quebec [Poster Presentation]. Poster presented at the World Conference on Health Promotion, Montreal, Quebec.

• Brown, T. L., Monarque, M., Durand, A., & Loiselle, C. G. (2021, December). Key psychosocial predictors of students' retention. In C. G. Loiselle (Chair), Language matters: Dialogue McGill’s supported initiatives [Symposium]. Dialogue McGill Conference, virtual.

Innovative Practices in Service Provision with Interpreters in Times of Health Crisis: A Qualitative Study of Clinicians, Interpreters, and Service Users’ Perspectives

Language barriers hinder access and quality in health and social services. Attention to cultural and social norms is also key to the provision of good care, especially with migrants and refugees. The benefits of working through interpreters have been documented, yet not in the context of health crises nor from the perspective of service users. Our study explores how practitioners, interpreters, and service users in Quebec provide/receive health and social services during the COVID-19 crisis. Individual semi-structured interviews (n=60) will be conducted with public and community-based health and social service providers, interpreters, and non-francophone users in Montreal and Quebec. Interviews will explore (a) innovative practices in service provision with interpreters used during the COVID-19 crisis and (b) barriers and enablers to the success of these practices. Interviews will be conducted by phone, skype, or in-person following Public Health guidelines, with assistance of an interpreter when necessary. Interviews will be audio recorded with permission of participants, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English or French. Interview transcriptions and interviewers’ fieldnotes will be analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. The perspectives of clinicians, interpreters, and users will be contrasted within and across practices and socio-demographic groups. Innovative practices will be classified using the Innovative Practices Evaluation Framework. Special attention will be paid to ensuring voluntary and respectful participation and confidentiality. Ethics approval will be sought from the CIUSSS West Centre Montreal and researchers’ universities. This study will identify innovative strategies for service provision through interpreters in times of health crisis, including digital innovations.

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Outputs:

• Ruiz-Casares, M. & Bentayeb, N. (March, 2022). Intervenir avec interprètes durant la COVID-19 : le point de vue des intervenant.e.s, des interprètes et des usager.ère.s [webinar]. Sherpa University Institute.