The UPEI Health Research Network, in collaboration with the PEI Family Resource Centres, is undertaking a needs assessment of the gaps and barriers to health-related services among families in PEI. A secondary objective of this needs assessment is to better understand the individuals who use the Family Resource Centres in PEI.

The needs assessment will consist of a survey distributed across PEI. Eligible participants will include PEI parents or guardians (18+) of children or youth under 18 years old.

Families seeking parent and child-related support on PEI have access to seven Family Resource Centres across the province funded by the federal government. These include: CHANCES, Cap Enfants, Families First Resource Centre, Families East Resource Centre, Family Place, Families First Resource Centre, Kids West Inc., each of whom are funded each year by two initiatives through the Public Health Agency of Canada: the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP). Funding through the CAPC and CPNP aims to promote the healthy development of young children from birth to age 6, pregnant women, and new mothers who face challenges that put their health at risk due to poverty, teenage pregnancy, substance use, family violence, and social or geographic isolation.

It is currently unknown what specific types of barriers PEI families caring for children and youth face when attempting to navigate the health and social care system. Moreover, while these programs aim to support vulnerable families, aggregate socio-demographic information informed by the social determinants of health has never been systematically collected across PEI. The current survey aims to gather information on the perceived gaps and barriers to health and social services and programs on PEI by families to: (1) Develop a foundation for referral services within the CHANCES Community Navigation project; and (2) Determine gaps and barriers for specific populations (e.g., by geographical area, socioeconomic status, etc) that may be appropriately addressed by PEI Family Resource Centres future programming.

The survey will be available from late June 2023 until August 2023. Final reporting will be available in Fall and Winter 2023.