Embracing Culturally Responsive Technology Solutions to Sustain the Healthcare Workforce in Rural, Remote, and Indigenous Communities Through Hybrid Care

Principal Investigators: Anurag Singh, Nelly Oelke, Kendall Ho, John Mah, John Pawlovich

Healthcare provider shortages in rural, remote, and Indigenous (RRI) communities are an important problem. In British Columbia, ‘hybrid care’ programs link health professionals through technology to treat patients (virtual care) alongside local providers (in-person care), bridging service gaps when providers are unavailable and supporting local providers. However, not all RRI communities have embraced such programs. We seek to understand the complexities of implementing ‘hybrid care’, how to make this approach culturally safe and adaptable to unique community needs, while improving healthcare workforce sustainability. Our learnings will be applied to developing service delivery guidelines and ‘hybrid care’ policy scalable across Canada.

For more information, contact Anurag Singh at the University of Northern British Columbia

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | X handles: @RCC_bc, @UBCNMP_unbc

Funder: CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) and Michael Smith Health Research BC