Examining the primary care preferences of South Asian-origin communities

# Examining the primary care preferences of South Asian-origin communities

Wellesley Institute is a research and policy institute that works to improve health and health equity in Toronto. The researchers at Wellesley Institute conducting this study are Dr. Brenda Roche (Principal investigator), Jemal Demeke (Co-PI), Farzana Akter (Co-PI), Dr. Augustine Okoh (Co-PI), and Yu-Ling Yin (Co-PI). Yu-Ling Yin will lead the project focusing on South Asian-origin communities. This research has been funded by the Ministry of Health.

The research project aims to understand primary care preference of South Asian-origin communities across Ontario. We are conducting focus groups with individuals who have lived experience to understand their preferences in primary care, identify opportunities for improvement, and make recommendations that help enhance primary care to better meet communities’ needs.

We are also conducting a parallel study on Black communities in Ontario, led by Jemal Demeke.

# To participate, you must:

• Self-identify as belonging to South Asian-origin communities • Be 18 years of age or older • Live in Ontario • Have accessed primary care services within the past 5 years • Be able to participate in a virtual focus group in English, with optional language support available, and comfortable with audio recording

# What will I do?

We are recruiting up to 100 individuals from South Asian-origin communities to participate in the focus groups. 

• The focus group will take up to 90 minutes and will be conducted virtually. 
• Focus groups will be facilitated primarily in English. Language support will be provided for some sessions based on participant demographics; see below for more information.
• The discussion will be audio recorded via Zoom and transcribed for analysis. Participants will receive a $40 incentive for their time.
• You will be asked to complete a brief socio-demographic survey before the focus group.

# Language support

 limited number of focus group sessions with South Asian–origin community participants will be planned with language-specific support, where a bilingual co-facilitator or interpreter may be present to support a particular language group (e.g., Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, or Gujarati), based on recruitment needs. Language support will be session-specific and provided only for the language identified in advance for that focus group. Please see this study information sheet for a list upcoming sessions and languages supported.

# Who can I contact for more information?

If you are interested in participating in this study or would like to learn more, please contact Yu-Ling Yin, Co-Principal Investigator, who is leading recruitment and focus groups for South Asian-origin communities: yuling.yin@wellesleyinstitute.com or 416-972-1010 ext. 257

If you have any general questions about the study, please contact Dr. Brenda Roche, Principal Investigator: brenda@wellesleyinstitute.com or 416-972-1010 ext. 257

This project has been approved by Toronto Metropolitan University REB (2025-470). If you have questions about your rights as a participant, please contact the Research Ethics Board at rebchair@torontomu.ca.