Too far for comfort: Identifying unmet needs and proximity-based resource gaps for social and community services in Ontario

Having unmet physical and social needs, such as being food insecure or living in unstable housing, is associated with a number of negative outcomes, including poor health. One common approach to addressing unmet needs includes sharing referrals to relevant social and community resources, which is a service that the 211 Ontario helpline provides. How close or far a referred resource is can determine whether an individual with an unmet need actually accesses this resource. The analytic goal of this study is to determine which health and social need types have the largest distances to their corresponding referred resources. Findings will be used to improve the accessibility of referred resources at 211 Ontario.

Faculty Supervisor:

Laura C. Rosella

Student:

Partner:

Ontario 211 Services Corporation

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Toronto

Program: