Barriers & facilitators in accessing child health services and social supports: perceptions of international graduate student parents in Newfoundland & Labrador

It is widely acknowledged that access to health services and social supports is one of the determinants of a newcomer population’s health status. It has been observed that research studies typically focus on investigating the experiences of immigrants and refugees. Experiences of other sub-groups of newcomers, such as academic sojourners, have remained overlooked and warrant attention from researchers. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, the aim of my research was to investigate the experiences of international graduate student parents in accessing child health services and social supports. I examined perceived barriers and facilitators when accessing these services in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Through eight semi-structured interviews with these international graduate students, I found that key barriers in accessing services and support were the length of wait time, and participants’ negative experiences in navigating the healthcare system. Additionally, language barriers, participants’ limited interactions with the local population, lack of affordable daycare, and difficulties when it came to obtaining accurate healthcare information, added layers of complexity to their experience when accessing healthcare services. Factors that can facilitate access include professionalism of healthcare workers, child-friendly arrangements in patient waiting areas, and cultural sensitivity in healthcare delivery. These findings enhance our understanding of academic sojourners’ access to child health services and social supports. They can also inform health promotion programs and activities targeted toward improving access to child health services and social supports for families of international students in Newfoundland and Labrador.