Ukrainian refugee women’s experiences of settlement and navigating health and social services in Canada

Abstract

This qualitative descriptive study explores Ukrainian refugee women’s settlement experiences and how they negotiate the social and health care services to support their mental health and well-being in Canada. Utilizing an intersectional lens data from the lived experience of 16 Ukrainian refugee women was thematically analyzed. Four prominent themes emerge from the women’s narratives of their migration and settlement journey – a) confluence of oppressions; b) multifaceted and interwoven paths to cultural integration and adaptation, c) convergence of identity in professional development; and d) navigating settlement. Research findings reveal the complexities of self-reconstruction and socialization as experienced by refugee women. We are of the opinion that hosting refugee women in a new country and providing hope for a new life mean offering them meaningful choices built on forms of affordable and accessible culturally appropriate health and social services and ensuring that their settlement and integration in their new country is successful.