Helping members of English-speaking communities in Quebec make good health decisions thanks to digital patient decision aids.

Many people in Québec lack access to a trusted health professional who can answer questions in depth and in their primary language—especially English-speaking communities outside major centres like Montreal. As a result, many turn to online health information, which can be accurate but complex, overly simplified, or misleading.

Our team has developed customizable, evidence-based digital decision support tools that provide clear, tailored health information. This project evaluates whether these tools help English-speaking communities in Québec make more informed health decisions and improve access to reliable care guidance.

Outputs:

Coming soon…

Sustainable Human Resource Management of Healthcare Personnel Working in a Minority Linguistic context – Comparative Phase in Border Regions

This project aims to address strategic human resources management (HRM) issues faced by the part of the healthcare system serving the English-speaking population and other cultural minorities in regions of Quebec outside the Montreal metropolitan area. Its initial phase took place in the Quebec City region at Jeffery Hale - Saint Brigid's Hospital (JHSB), grouped as part of CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, and then has proceeded to a comparative analysis of recruitment processes between CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale and CISSS des Laurentides. The present project aims to conduct further comparative analysis between these two establishments and regions of Quebec bordering the English-speaking provinces: Outaouais, Montérégie-Ouest and Côte-Nord. The first objective of the project is to report on the current bilingual staffing process (recruitment, selection, on-boarding and integration) for four job categories in high demand in the Quebec healthcare system, in designated English-speaking facilities. Its aim is to establish the degree of adequacy between published language requirements, initial assessment of candidates and upgrading measures offered to newcomers. Secondly, the project aims to identify HRM practices that can help retain staff working in a bilingual healthcare context. The entire non-agreement-based HRM process will be covered (staff appraisal, skills development, non-monetary recognition), while investigating the potential strategic contribution of the surrounding English-speaking community in this respect.

Outputs:

• 3 scientific presentations delivered: one at an international conference in Europe (late 2024) on workplace diversity; one at ACFAS 2024 (the largest Francophone scientific conference in Canada), within a symposium on health and social service delivery in official language minority communities (OLMCs), co-organized by Consortium national de formation en santé and Groupe de recherche sur la formation et les pratiques en santé et service social en contexte francophone minoritaire; and one at a national conference hosted by a pan-Canadian association focused, among other topics, on current human resource management issues.

• 1 conference proceeding and 1 scientific book chapter (in press) resulting from the international conference; the book is expected to be widely distributed across the Francophonie.

• 2 posters: one presented at a 2024 symposium organized by Health Canada, and another for a research event organized by CISSS de l’Outaouais (abstract accepted, event scheduled for June).

• 3 research reports submitted to CISSS de l’Outaouais, CISSS de la Côte-Nord, and CISSS de la Gaspésie (the latter currently undergoing local validation). Along with a fourth report from CISSS des Laurentides, these outputs stem from a study funded by Dialogue McGill and will be disseminated via the Centre d’expertise ACESS website to support improved access and adaptation of health and social services for English-speaking communities in Eastern Québec.

• 4 presentations of comparative results delivered to the Jeffery Hale–Saint Brigid’s steering committee; selected materials may be published on the Centre d’expertise ACESS website following approval.

• 1 invited presentation at the ACESS Symposium Improving Access Through Knowledge, held in Québec City in 2025 and funded by the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise.

• 1 lunchtime discussion session planned for Fall 2025 with Équipe de recherche en partenariat sur la Diversité culturelle et l’Immigration dans les régions du Québec, a funded research network involving regional partners including Jeffery Hale–Saint Brigid’s.

Disseminate, promote, mobilize: Planning of knowledge transfer activities for English speakers in long-term care facilities.

As part of an action research process initiated with our partner, the CHSLD St Brigid's Home (SBH), a workshop was organized on November 30 and December 1, 2021, and about forty participants from the residential center (i.e., users and their representatives, caregivers, employees, managers) actively participated. This workshop, brought together all stakeholders to reflect on innovative models of long-term care that could promote the sustainable health of workers, residents and their families. This initiative was a great success and laid a solid foundation for the continuation of the research activities planned with our partner. Following this workshop, a written summary (in French) will be made available, as well as the content of the four conferences held during the first half-day (also in French).

As this activity was held in French, through this funding application, we aim to reach the English-speaking population through knowledge transfer and appropriation initiatives. Given the mission and values of Jeffery Hale Saint Brigid's Hospital, we believe it is essential to reach out to English-speaking participants at SBH, as well as to the English-speaking community served in Quebec City and more broadly in Quebec. This will ensure that the language preferences of the end-users are respected, but more importantly, that they are truly involved in the entire process.

More specifically, the funds from this program will be used to translate the workshop summary from French to English, to prepare written summaries of the four conferences presented the first day, and to accommodate a complementary "world café" type of activity in which English-speaking people will be able to participate more actively, thanks to live interpretation services. This will allow, in the end, to enrich the synthesis already written and produce a new version of it. The results thus disseminated in both official languages will facilitate a greater appropriation of knowledge by all stakeholders in this field, regardless of the language in which they express themselves.

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Outputs:

• Feillou, I., Jauvin, N. (January, 2023). Sustainable Health Development in CHSLDs, an action-research initiative in partnership with CHSLD St Brigid's Home and Jefferey Hale Partners [Invited presentation]. CHSSN, Québec, Canada.

• Feillou, I. (December, 2023). CHSLD: milieu de travail, milieu de vie, milieu de soins. Comment favoriser la santé durable des travailleurs, des résidents et de leurs proches? [Webinaire]. ASSTSAS.

• For more information on this project and to view some of its outcomes, please visit: https://centreexpertiseacess.com/en/sustainable-health-project/

Project extension | Making the switch to remote interpreting

One-year project extension for a previously funded project.

Making the switch to remote Interpreting

For the past six months, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the use of remote public service interpreting (R-PSI), a form of interpreting that was gradually being put into practice in Quebec’s health and social services network. R-PSI refers not only to the use of telecommunication technologies (such as videoconferencing, telephony, and web conferencing) that allow interpreters to deliver their services remotely but also to the specific communication strategies that require proper training. The goal of this study is twofold: 1) to develop two training programs (one for interpreters and one for service providers) as per recent R-PSI management and practice guidelines, and 2) to measure their impact on the satisfaction and collaboration of the professionals involved. The study will primarily ensure quality services for a clientele that is especially at risk, i.e., immigrants and refugees, during the COVID-19 crisis. It will also help ensure that Quebec’s health system makes the transition to R-PSI.

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Outputs:

• Unknown (2021). Travailler avex des interprètes à distance : les bonnes pratiques [webinar]. Québec, Québec, Canada.

• Unknown (2021). Interpréter à distance au temps de la COVID-19 [webinar]. Québec, Québec, Canada.

• Unknown (June 2022). Unknown [Oral communication]. 1er congrès international de l’EDIQ.