A Multi-site Qualitative Study to Explore and Understand Barriers and Enablers Indigenous Community Members Experience When Accessing Health and Social Services

Background: The current state of health care in Canada for Indigenous Peoples is grounded in the historical colonial development of the existing healthcare system. In an already complicated system, a role such as the Indigenous patient navigator (IPN) can assist to bridge the gap of health inequity. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand and explore the barriers and enablers Indigenous community members experience when accessing health and social services from the perspective of the IPN as well as Indigenous community members who access IPN services across health and social care settings in the province of Ontario, Canada. Methods: This multi-site qualitative study was guided by methodological principles of Interpretive Description (ID) (Thorne, 2016) and the Two-Eyed Seeing approach to ensure the inclusion of non-Indigenous and Indigenous worldviews. The framework by Loppie and Wein (2022), will be used to organize the findings of this study. Results: Semi-structured one-to-one, virtual or telephone interviews were conducted involving thirty-six participants (20 IPNs and 16 Indigenous community members). Indigenous community member barriers to access care and enablers to support access to health and social services are described at multiple levels of health determinants including Root, Core, and Stem using a Tree Metaphor outlined and described by Loppie & Wien (2022). Conclusion: This research provides the foundation for future research to explore the role of the IPN and how this role might address the barriers and support enablers Indigenous Peoples experience when accessing health and social services across health care settings.