Newcomer Health + Wellbeing
Newcomer and refugee communities are part of a diverse and flourishing society. However, many communities face unequal access to services, resources, and support systems.
CUP creates environments for newcomer and refugee communities to work in close collaboration with researchers and students to improve programs, practices, and policies. Our work contributes to strengthened services, culturally relevant evaluations, and advocacy efforts.
All our projects follow a community-engaged research approach, which means they are co-created in close collaboration with a range of community partners, nonprofits, frontline staff, governments, and funding agencies. Key contributions from CUP include co-creating projects with partners, data collection and analysis, and mobilizing knowledge into real-time programs, practices, and policies.
Current Projects
New Canadians Health Centre
2021 - Present
CUP Research team
The New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC) is Edmonton’s only specialized community health centre for refugees, providing interdisciplinary, culturally safe care to newly arrived refugees during their first two years in Canada.
Many refugees arrive with untreated health conditions and face significant barriers to accessing care. Guided by principles of social justice, equity, and inclusion, NCHC addresses these challenges through an innovative, principles-based model that supports health and wellbeing beyond traditional healthcare.
In partnership with the NCHC since 2021, CUP and the Evaluation Capacity Network (ECN) have been studying the impact of this model. We are examining how it improves access, enhances care delivery, supports maternal and child health, and strengthens transitions to long-term care. Together, we are generating evidence to advance more equitable and effective healthcare in Canada.
Researchers have published several academic papers based on our partnership with the NCHC
- Botwe, A., Armoush, N., Poth, C., Yohani, S., & Gokiert, R. January 2026. A Scoping Review of Refugee Children’s Health Conditions, Outcomes, and Measures Used in Refugee-Serving Public Health Centres/Clinics in Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23010092
- Haight, J, Botwe, A., Dzunic-Machilonga, A., Neves, C. et al. November 2024. A principles-based community health center for addressing refugee health: the New Canadians Health Centre. Frontiers in Public Health, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1440075
Settlement Evaluation Hub
2019 - Present
CUP Research team
The Settlement Evaluation Hub, developed in partnership with the Evaluation Capacity Network (ECN), is designed to be Canada’s preeminent evaluation capacity-building resource for the settlement sector. This multi-strategy hub equips Service Provider Organizations (SPOs), Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs), and umbrella organizations with practical resources to foster a culture of evaluation, where outcome-based evidence informs community planning, decision-making, and advocacy.
In 2025, the website was revised to expand its reach and strengthen services for the settlement sector across Canada. Our goal was to create an accessible online hub that contains tailored evaluation tools, training materials, e-learning resources, and opportunities for evaluation training and support. The website is intended to serve settlement practitioners, researchers, funders, and newcomer communities, while promoting evidence-informed, participatory, and equity-centered evaluation practices that center lived experience.
Recently Completed Projects
2023-2025
Research team: Nashid Rahman
As a follow-up to the Journeys Project, CUP researchers partnered with Multicultural Health Brokers (MCHB) to understand how families navigate early learning and child care (ELCC) services in Edmonton. In particular, researchers were interested in the barriers and facilitators to accessing high-quality, affordable, flexible, and culturally relevant ELCC.
Researchers connected to 21 parents from the Bangladeshi, Indian-Punjabi, and Nigerian communities to hear their first-hand experiences of ELCC in Edmonton, as well as their solutions for change.
This project was led by graduate researcher Nashid Rahman. Access Rahman’s thesis on the University of Alberta website:
This project also led to the creation of knowledge mobilization brief to share with individuals and organizations in Edmonton's ELCC sector:
2021-2024
The Journeys Project was a collaboration between CUP, the Council for Early Learning and Care (CELC), and the Multicultural Health Brokers (MCHB) to gather firsthand experiences of ethnocultural partners in accessing early learning and care services in Edmonton. CUP engaged 30 parents, whose experiences informed a guidebook, which partners are using to understand and address the needs of refugee and newcomer families.
Learn more about Journeys on the CELC’s website: