Knowledge Translation Strategies for Healthcare Access in South Asian Immigrant Families

Abstract

Effective communication is essential to deliver equitable healthcare, however, many South Asian immigrant families in Canada are constrained by language barriers that limit their access and capacity to access health services (Gulati et al., 2012). These challenges often result in miscommunication, delayed diagnoses, missed vaccinations, and poorer health outcomes (Rasi et al., 2020). One common but problematic response is the reliance of children as informal translators during medical visits (Pandya, 2023). This not only creates emotional stress for youth and increases the risk of misinformation but can cause discomfort for parents who do not wish to discuss sensitive health issues in front of their children.

This Knowledge Translation (KT) report looks into how language barriers impact the use of healthcare services by South Asian immigrant families and focuses particularly on children's roles as interpreters. This report presents a background review of current evidence, a focused PICO(ST)-framed research question, and a detailed application of the Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) Cycle to propose effective, evidence-informed knowledge translation (KT) strategies. In addition, the appendix includes a website designed as a KT tool to support immigrant families in navigating the healthcare system more effectively.