"Like an umbrella, protecting me from the rain until I get to my destination": Evaluating the implementation of a tailored primary care model for urban marginalized populations

BACKGROUND: Improving health equity and access to the highest possible standard of health care is a key issue of social accountability. Centretown Community Health Centre in Ottawa, Canada has iteratively developed a program to target and serve marginalized and complex populations since 1999. The program implementation was evaluated using a validated implementation framework. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a health records extraction (n = 570), a client complexity assessment tool (n = 74), semi-structured interviews with clients and key stakeholders (n = 41), and a structured client satisfaction survey (n = 30). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Five hundred and seventy unique clients were seen between November 1-30, 2021. A third of clients (34%) did not have a provincial health card for access to universal health care services, and most (68%) were homeless or a resident of rooming houses. Most clients who reported their income (92%) were at or below Canada's official poverty line. The total mean complexity score for clients seen over a one-month period (n = 74) was 16.68 (SD 6.75) where a total score of at least 13 of 33 is perceived to be a threshold for client biopsychosocial complexity. Clients gained the majority of their total score from the Social support assessment component of the tool. Clients (n = 31) and key informants (n = 10) highlighted the importance of building relationships with this population, providing wrap-around care, and providing low-barrier care as major strength to the Urban Health program (UH). Key areas for improvement included the need to: i) increase staff diversity, ii) expand program hours and availability, and iii) improve access to harm reduction services. Clients appeared to be highly satisfied with the program, rating the program an average total score of 18.50 out of 20. CONCLUSIONS: The program appears to serve marginalized and complex clients and seems well-received by the community. Our findings have relevance for other health care organizations seeking to better serve marginalized and medically and socially complex individuals and families in their communities.