Interviewee: Aysan Dehghani, Bachelors, University of British Columbia | Editors: Janielle Richards, Romina Garcia de leon (Blog coordinators)
Published: March 28, 2025
Can you tell us about your research?
I’m currently finishing my bachelor’s degree, and the research I lead is called IWASHRA’s Community Compass. The project focuses on immigrant women’s access to sexual and reproductive health in British Columbia. We’re exploring the accessibility and experiences of newcomer women when it comes to healthcare—everything from finding resources, to their interactions with healthcare providers, and how they navigate the system. Essentially, we’re looking at how immigrant women engage with the healthcare system and identifying any barriers they face.
The project started as a directed-study under the guidance of my primary investigator, Dr. Jemima Baada, who’s a professor in the Geography Department at UBC. The project evolved into a community-based initiative. It’s been running for about three years now, and our team consists of four researchers, along with a graphic designer who initially joined our team as we made it to the Map the System finals at UBC, and who has continued to help us with presentations and materials.
Even though we’re in the process of writing a policy brief with the CERC in Migration and Integration team at Toronto Metropolitan University, we’ve also been conducting workshops with the community. So far, we’ve held two major workshops, and the latest one focused on “journey mapping.”
Can you describe “journey mapping”?
Journey mapping is a visualization tool we used in one of our workshops to better understand how immigrant women access healthcare resources, particularly as it relates to sexual and reproductive health. It’s essentially a timeline that traces their experiences—from the initial stage of searching for healthcare information, like how to find a primary care doctor or testing centers, all the way through to receiving care and making recommendations on what improvements can be made.
We had a formal discussion in the larger group, but also broke into smaller groups with tables of newcomer women, where we facilitated discussions. To make the workshop even more valuable, we collaborated and invited community partners MAP, Volentia Translation and Solid State Coop. We also invited a family physician, Dr. Mei-Ling Wiedmeyer, from Umbrella Health Co-Op, to join us. She has experience working with cultural health brokers, so she understands the challenges faced by newcomer women in accessing healthcare.
During the recommendation stage of the workshop, Dr. Wiedmeyer was able to filter the suggestions and provide insights from her experience as a physician. For example, she emphasized the need for changes to Canada’s “one-size-fits-all” healthcare model. The current system doesn’t always meet the diverse needs of immigrant populations, and we need to adapt to those needs.
What led you to do this research?
I identify as a third-culture student. I’m ethnically Persian, but I’ve lived in several countries, including the UAE, Germany, and now Canada. My family moved to Germany right in the middle of the European refugee crisis in 2015, and that experience left an impact on me. I was sent to a refugee camp to complete paperwork when we arrived, and I realized how difficult it was to navigate the system as a newcomer, even with all the privileges I had.
This experience sparked my interest in immigrant and refugee issues. During high school, I even wrote my IB thesis on the political consequences of Angela Merkel’s decision to allow over 1 million refugees into Germany. From there, I focused my studies at UBC on migration, health, and policy, particularly around how the healthcare system can serve immigrant populations. I also worked at the BC Center for Disease Control on a digital sexual health initiative called DiSHI, which further fueled my interest in sexual health and reaching specific populations with tailored resources.
Currently, I am also a trainee under the HER-BC team at the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI), and working with an incredible all-female team that makes the research so much more meaningful.
Where do you hope to see this work in 10 years?
When it comes to translating research into policy findings, one of the biggest challenges is feasibility. Is my project applicable in the real world? And whether it will be accepted by the public and the government. Research is crucial, but it’s equally important to turn that research into something actionable that can truly benefit communities.
One of the recommendations we’ve made is the creation of an integrated healthcare model. Newcomer women face very unique and complex social determinants of health, so multidisciplinary healthcare centers that can address those needs are essential. Ideally, these centers would be set up in districts or regions, providing a combination of physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, and counselors—all in one space. This would allow communities to access a more tailored, comprehensive healthcare system.
The challenge, of course, is the financial aspect. But there’s already evidence showing that integrated healthcare models can be effective. For instance, one of the leads at Solid State Co-Op, Mahado, is proposing a healthcare center through the Afiya Care Center, which could serve as a model for this type of community-based healthcare. I find that incredibly inspiring, and I hope to see this model expanded.
Ultimately, in 10 years, I’d love to see this research translate into a fully integrated healthcare system that can meet the diverse needs of immigrant women. By connecting public health with policy in a way that makes sense for these communities, we could create a system that really works for everyone.
Additional notable resources/organizations related to this work:
Keep up with Aysan’s work on Linkedin
