Francophones in Ontario, who live in a linguistic minority situation, experience poorer health outcomes than the Anglophone population and face challenges in accessing services in their preferred language. In a context characterized by increasing diversity and population aging, a better understanding of their experiences with French-language health and social services is needed.

This partnership-based project aims to examine the experiences and perceptions of Ontario Francophones regarding French-language health and social services in order to co-develop a toolkit to support service users, providers, and decision-makers.

A descriptive qualitative study, informed by Dewey’s social inquiry framework, was conducted with Francophones living in Ontario. Data were collected through 20 individual interviews and two focus groups (n = 13) and analyzed using thematic analysis.

This project will help address the lack of evidence regarding Francophones’ experiences with French-language health and social services in Ontario. Conducted in partnership with academic, community, and governmental stakeholders, it will lead to the development of a toolkit including a report, awareness materials, and training resources tailored to the realities of practice, with the goal of supporting improvements in French-language health and social services.