Understanding the Long-term Care Experience of Official Language Minorities in Canada: An Environmental Scan

Members of minority and racialized communities across Canada commonly experience disparities in health and healthcare. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, minority and racialized individuals have been found to report poorer health outcomes and added barriers to healthcare access. While there is growing understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on individuals who live and work in residential long-term care (LTC) homes and other congregate care settings, little attention has been directed at examining inequities in the care experience and care-related outcomes that equity-seeking groups, including Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC), face within LTC. It’s clear that there is a need for systemic change within LTC; the pandemic, especially in its first two waves, highlighted several pre-existing issues within this sector. To ensure high-quality and equitable care for all aging Canadians, these system-level changes must be informed by evidence.