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Partnering for Appropriate Virtual Care

The PAVC project aims to address the needs of linguistically diverse communities whose members have a language other than English and are interested in receiving care virtually.

Take the survey and help us improve language access to virtual care

The PAVC collaborative  is developing a resource that will focus on the needs of individuals who have a language other than English (LOTE) and are deaf or hard of hearing and would like to receive care virtually. 

The resource will guide best practices for virtual health visits, particularly when language services are needed when accessing information or communicating in a health care setting.

To build the resource, the collaborative needs your input.

The patient survey will be made available in the six most-accessed languages: American Sign Language (ASL), French, Spanish, Punjabi, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. Both surveys are now open until June 21.

Survey for health care providers

Survey for patients

What is the Partnering for Appropriate Virtual Care collaborative (PAVC)?

Project aim 

Our project team aims  to create PHSA-wide resource(s) which will outline appropriate (safe, high quality, and culturally sensitive) virtual health interactions between health care teams and community members, including patients, families and caregivers. 

Despite the rise in linguistically diverse communities across B.C., there is a lack of focus on equitable language access across the health care system. As a result, our community members and health care staff often encounter great challenges due to language barriers when receiving, or providing care. 

Thus, through our project and deliverables, we aim to specifically address the needs of linguistically diverse communities who have a language other than English and are interested to receive care virtually. 

Project approach 

It is important for this initiative to have an informed lens from those with lived and living experiences. With that in mind, this project is co-led by a patient partner and a language access lead from the Provincial Language Services language access lead, who is a member of the  Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing (DDBHH) community. 

Additionally, the project working group includes patient partner representation from the following language constituencies: 
  • Francophone
  • Spanish
  • Indigenous DDBHH community
We want to ensure the resource(s) we develop include voices of those who are directly involved in receiving and providing virtual care. Therefore, our planning efforts will be informed by engagement with health care teams (including providers and administration staff) and community members. 


Current engagement strategy

Community member engagement

  • Online Focus group/interviews
  • Online survey
  • Online patient journey mapping

Health care engagement

  • Online focus groups
  • Online survey
  • To apply for engagement, please review this document.

Are you interested in engaging with us, or do you know anyone who may be interested ?

Email us at provincialvirtualhealth@phsa.ca with the subject line:  PAVC engagement.


SOURCE: Partnering for Appropriate Virtual Care ( )
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