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The aim of this paper is to design and pilot test a culturally tailored intervention that meets the support needs and preferences of two refugee groups.

The study employed a multi‐method participatory research design and was conducted in two urban centres in western and central Canada. Support was delivered to Sudanese and Somali refugees (n=58), by trained peer and professional helpers, in face‐to‐face groups matched by gender and ethnicity and in telephone dyads. Participants completed three quantitative measures before (pre‐test) and following (post‐test) the intervention. Group interviews with refugee participants and individual interviews with peer and professional helpers conducted at post‐test, elicited qualitative data on perceived impacts and factors influencing impacts of the intervention. Service providers and policy influencers (n=22) were interviewed in groups about the implications of this intervention study for services, programs and policies.

There were significant increases in perceived support and social integration and significant decreases in loneliness following the intervention. Participants reported that they learned how to seek services and supports and how to cope with challenges faced by refugees. Service providers and policy influencers were impressed by the success of the intervention.

No peer support intervention studies focused on the unique support needs of African refugees have been reported. This pilot intervention study demonstrates the supportive power of like‐ethnic peers and could guide subsequent community‐based intervention trials and the design of culturally appropriate health‐related programs.

This study aims to examine the role of support actors in promoting or hindering access to public services/spaces for migrant agricultural workers (MAWs) and to determine the factors that influence adequate support for this population.

Using a situational analysis methodology, the authors carried out focus groups and interviews with 40 support actors complimented by a community scan (n = 28) with public-facing support persons and a community consultation with migrant farmworkers (MFWs) (n = 235).

Two major themes were revealed: (In)access and (In)action and Blurred Lines in Service Provision. The first illustrated how support actors could both reinforce or challenge barriers for this population through tensions of “Coping or Pushing Back on Constraints” and “Need to find them first!” Justification or Preparation? Blurred lines in Service Provision encompassed organizational/staff’s behaviors and contradictions that could hinder meaningful support for MFWs revealing two key tensions: “Protection or performance?” and “Contradicting or reconciling priorities? Our findings revealed a support system for MAWs still in its infancy, contending with difficult political and economic conditions.

Service providers can use research findings to improve supports for MAWs. For example, addressing conflicts of interests in clinical encounters and identification of farms to inform adequate outreach strategies can contribute to more effective support for MAWs.

This research is novel in its examination of multiple sectors as well as its inclusion of both formal and informal actors involved in supporting MAWs. Our findings have the potential to inform more comprehensive readings of the health and social care resources available to MAWs.