Health in Canada’s Francophone Minority Context: Twenty Years of Research Introduction

Research on health in official language minority communities (OLMCs) has gained remarkable momentum as a result of the action plans and roadmaps of the Canadian federal government. Since 2003, Health Canada and the Official Language Community Development Bureau (OLCDB) have provided funding to the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS) and Société Santé en français (SSF), which allocate a portion of their funding to research. The research component of the CNFS, through the National Secretariat and the Université de Moncton, the University of Ottawa, Laurentian University and the Université de Saint-Boniface components, fund start-up projects, pilot studies and scholarships. This has led to the development of Francophone university health research hubs across the country. Two OLMC health catalyst programs under the aegis of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) have also contributed to health research, the first from 2004 to 2012 and the second since 2021. Research networks have emerged, research groups formed and research chairs awarded, with the specific objective of studying health in Francophone minority communities (FMCs) and the access of this population to French-language health services, such as the Réseau de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la santé des francophones en situation minoritaire au Canada (RISF) (CIHR 2006–2011); the Réseau de recherche appliquée sur la santé des francophones de l’Ontario (RRASFO), an initiative of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) (2009–2015); the Groupe de recherche sur la formation et les pratiques en santé et service social en contexte francophone minoritaire (GReFoPS) at the University of Ottawa; the Groupe de recherche et d’innovation sur l’organisation des services de santé (GRIOSS) at the Université de Moncton; the Research Chair in Population Aging at the Université de Moncton; the University of Ottawa/Institut du Savoir Montfort Joint Chair on the Health of Francophones in Ontario; and the Canadian Francophonie Research Chair in Health. Other research groups and chairs, while not focusing on FMC health as their primary objective, have also carried out a number of studies on the same theme, some of these include the International Francophonie Research Chair on Digital Health Technologies at the University of Ottawa; the Research Chair on International Francophonie and the Health of Immigrants and Refugees from Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa at the University of Ottawa; the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research at Laurentian University; the Institut du Savoir Montfort Research Chair in Medical Education; the Institut du Savoir Montfort Research Chair in the Organization of Health Services; and the Institut du Savoir Montfort Research Chair in Family Medicine. Scientific production on the subject has grown considerably. Sauvageau (2018) had counted some 60 publications between 1990 and 2001, and some 235 between 2002 and 2016. Today, nearly 600 references on FMCs can be found in the bibliography of our research chair’s knowledge mobilization site (https://sante-closm.ca/en/). One key issue driving researchers and knowledge users alike is the need to understand and assess the impact of minority language on the health of populations and on the quality and safety of health services. A few research postulates emerge: belonging to an FMC is a determinant of health; language concordance between service providers and recipients is a determinant of the quality and safety of care; linguistic insecurity and the fear of not receiving services in a timely manner impact the demand for services in the minority official language; and the active offer of minority official language services is an equity policy. This thematic issue presents a review of the knowledge produced to date, highlighting its strengths and limitations and identifying future research needs. It stems from the symposium The Health of Francophones in a …