Case 1 : Mobilizing Knowledge into Action: Best Practices in Responding to Urgent Refugee Health and Resettlement Service Needs

The Syrian Civil War has displaced 6.5 million people internally within Syria (UNHCR, 2016) and has led 5 million to flee the country and live as refugees in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and other North African countries (UNHCR, 2017). In 2015, the Canadian government and Canadian citizens stepped in with a nationwide commitment to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees. Due to community-based rallying, the commitment expanded to a total of 40,000 Syrian refugees by mid-2017 (Government of Canada, 2017). In response to this urgent and unprecedented arrival of refugees, hundreds of community agencies and many community groups across Canada banded together to provide services and supports to Syrian families (Hansen & Huston, 2016; Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services, 2017). Various sectors were represented in this effort: healthcare, settlement, community and nonprofit, housing, education, government, language, sponsor groups, children’s services, community and civic participation, police and safety, faith-based organizations, research, employment, and food assistance. Among organizations that represented these sectors, Access for Health and Settlement Centre was a community health centre that situated itself in a temporary accommodation site, serving primary health care, interpretation, and other community services (Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services, 2017). Through this effort, Dr. Zola Faraji, a senior scientist at Access for Health and Settlement Centre, and his community-based research team began to recognize the importance of documenting the manner in which the response was unfolding around them within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Zola knew that upon the government’s announcement to resettle so many Syrian refugees in Canada, none of the sectors and agencies who were to participate were adequately prepared to coordinate a response that matched the urgency of the situation. However, the response had been a remarkable one but not without its successes and challenges. Therefore, Zola conducted an environmental scan to document how service provider agencies within the GTA planned and delivered health, settlement, and other services for a large number of refugee families within a short period of time through a cross-sector perspective (Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services, 2017). The study findings captured key successes and challenges that informed the development of best practices for refugee health and resettlement services, particularly in relation to future large-scale arrivals of refugees. Now, Zola and her team are at a crossroad. They possess vital research findings and must develop recommendations as well as relationships with key players across various involved sectors. The team is developing a knowledge translation strategy. How can Zola and her team develop and implement a strategy that ensures that knowledge is not only shared but implemented into action? How can this research be utilized in a knowledge-to-action framework to benefit these vulnerable populations in the future

Dante’s kindling box: The Fort McMurray forest fire

Almost half of the Canadian landscape is made up of forests, but the amount of forest surface area burned every year has been growing steadily since 1960.1 This can be problematic due to the effects that forest fires have not only on the local environment but also on the globe as a whole. A forest fire or vegetation fire is defined as any open fire of vegetation such as savannah, forest, agriculture, or peat that is initiated by humans or nature.2 Vegetation fires contribute heavily to air pollution and climate change and are in turn exacerbated by them as well. Air pollution increases due to emissions from these fires, which contain 90-95% carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as well as methane and other volatile compounds.2 Emissions from forest fires also contribute to global greenhouse gases and aerosol particles (biomass burning organic aerosols),2 leading to indirect and direct consequences to human health. In contrast to biomass burning for household heating and cooking, catastrophic events of forest fires and sweeping grassland fires result in unique exposures and health consequences. In this case report, the relationship between environmental hazardous air pollutants and the potential physiological and psychological health effects associated with the forest fire that affected Fort McMurray, AB in May 2016 are considered

Healthcare systems within the Middle East

Diverse health systems within the Middle East continue to experience a high degree of variability with regards to accessibility, capacity, and the quality of care provided within each individual country. This paper summarizes the unique challenges and achievements within the healthcare systems of six countries in the Middle East region. Additionally, the review aims to provide evidence for how healthcare systems in the Middle East are managed and sustained despite differences in wealth and infrastructure, as well as the presence of conflict in certain areas. Canada can play an important role in supporting these countries with unique healthcare needs, and in supporting populations arriving to Canada from these countries