Healthcare Providers’ Knowledge of and Difficulties in Providing Services to African, Caribbean, and Black Populations in Ontario, Canada

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Abstract
Healthcare providers are often faced with a unique set of challenges when providing services to African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) populations, including include lack of access to culturally appropriate care, language barriers, limited knowledge of specific health issues and practices, and limited resource availability. Furthermore, the ACB community may face social determinants of health that can contribute to disparities in healthcare outcomes. The present study aimed to assess the perspective of service providers regarding their knowledge and difficulties in providing care for ACB populations who represent a large immigrant population subgroup in Ontario. Methods: Data were collected through an online survey of 518 healthcare providers (303 from Toronto and 215 from Ottawa) from June to September 2021. The association between the outcome variables and the sociodemographic factors was measured using multivariate regression techniques. Results: More than a quarter (26.8%) of the participants disagreed about having the knowledge of the health access needs of ACB communities, while 44% agreed about having the knowledge. Less than half of the participants agree about having enough resources to provide COVID‐19 care for ACB clients (49.5%) and being able to engage with clients effectively (45.4%). City‐stratified revealed that a relatively higher percentage of participants in Ottawa (4.4 vs 3.8%) strongly agreed that they are able to engage effectively with ACB clients, whereas participants in Toronto had a higher percentage of agreeing with having knowledge of health needs, and having enough resources to provide COVID‐19 care for ACB clients. Results of binary regression analysis showed that female participants were significantly less likely to disagree that they have enough resources to provide COVID‐19 care for the ACB clients (average marginal effect [AME] = 1.34, 95%CI = 1.07,1.68), and that they are able to effectively engage with the ACB clients (AME = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.01,1.25). Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings revealed significant sociodemographic patterns in having adequate knowledge of health access needs, having enough resources to provide COVID‐19‐related care, and being able to engage effectively with ACB clients. These findings provide crucial information regarding the gaps and areas for improvement not only for COVID‐19‐related care but also to promote the patient–physician interaction and more effective resource allocation to meet the health needs of ACB populations in this region.
Funding Information
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR FRN 179424)

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