Immigrants' Experience of Navigating eHealthcare Tools in Canada: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

Access to healthcare in Canada is evolving alongside eHealth tools. Despite a growing immigrant population, there's limited research on their usage of eHealthcare. Occupational therapists in Canada are increasingly involved in supporting and advocating for the accessibility of immigrants to the eHealthcare system.To provide an overview of services, barriers, and facilitators within the eHealth navigation experience by immigrants to Canada from the available published literature. A scoping review was conducted to gather academically published and grey literature, available between 2013 and 2024, that pertains to immigrants' use of eHealth in Canada. An initial search took place in 2023 and was updated in 2024, yielding 296 articles. Thirteen (13) manuscripts were included in the scoping review. Analysis of the results revealed three themes within the literature addressing immigrants' navigation of eHealth tools: the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, social determinants of eHealth, and online information-seeking behaviours. The analysis of the outcomes from the included studies revealed critical gaps in Canada's health system that challenge immigrants' access to eHealth services and recommendations to address these gaps. Collaboration among stakeholders is essential to develop tailored interventions and policies, with occupational therapists positioned to play a crucial role in helping to achieve equitable access to eHealth for immigrants in Canada. More research is needed to inform the creation and integration of culturally sensitive and linguistically accessible eHealth tools in Canada, tailored to meet the needs of immigrants in terms of their cultural background, context, and language.