A Survey on Health Care Access in French for Francophone Immigrants in Winnipeg, Canada

The scientific literature clearly shows that linguistic barriers influence accessibility to health care, the quality of the services received, the ability of the patient to understand and be understood, and the level of compliance to written and oral instructions. The province of Manitoba, in Canada, is aiming to recruit and retain approximately 700 new francophone immigrants per year. These immigrants come primarily from West Africa, Central Africa and North Africa.  The main objective of our research was to survey francophone immigrants in the city of Winnipeg regarding their experience with the language of service received at the three levels health care services. The respondents (117 out of 550 households, for a response rate of 21%) clearly indicated that it is difficult if not impossible to receive health care services in French regardless of the level.  Among the immigrant population surveyed, only approximately 20% speak English fluently. The vast majority of francophone immigrants indicate that it is absolutely essential or very important (84.3%) for them to receive health care services in French, and 64% would be willing to travel to another area of the city in order to get these services in French.  One in four respondents felt that their health care was compromised because of language discordance with the health care provider.  Among those receiving health care in English from their family doctor, 42.6% of the respondents tried to “get by” in English without being sure that they fully understood what was being said.  Only 36% of respondents knew that the province offers an interpretation service at all Winnipeg hospitals, however 50% of respondents felt they could have benefitted from the help of an interpreter. We will present the complete results of our survey, which demonstrate the need for increased access to health care in both official languages.

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