Remote Communities Project
Improving access to care and support in underserved and remote communities
Families living in rural, remote, and underserved communities can face added challenges when accessing pediatric rheumatology care. Long travel distances, limited local services, weather, costs, time away from work or school, and fewer specialized supports can all affect a child’s care journey.
Through the Remote Communities Project, Cassie + Friends works with families, healthcare teams, and community partners to better understand these barriers and support more connected, equitable care.
Why This Matters
Where a family lives should not determine the care they can access.
Children and youth living with rheumatic disease often need specialized care, regular appointments, treatment support, and trusted information. For families outside major centres, accessing that care can require significant time, travel, cost, and coordination.
By listening to families in rural and remote communities, Cassie + Friends can better understand what is working, where gaps exist, and how support can be improved.
Understanding
Barriers
Travel + Distance
Cost + Time
Local Access
Continuity of Care
Community
Engagement
Listening first, then building support.
Cassie + Friends engages with families and communities to better understand lived experiences, access barriers, and local needs. These conversations help inform research, resources, advocacy, and future support.
By centring community voices, the project helps ensure that solutions reflect real-world experiences — not assumptions.
What We’re Learning
Families need care that is connected, flexible, and accessible.
The project has highlighted the need for more flexible and coordinated approaches to care. Families in remote and rural communities may benefit from stronger local connections, clearer care pathways, better access to trusted information, and improved coordination between local providers and pediatric rheumatology teams.
These learnings help Cassie + Friends identify opportunities to strengthen support and advocate for more equitable access to care.
Reports + Findings
Explore the work behind the project.
Cassie + Friends has developed reports and findings from its remote and rural community engagement work. These resources help document family experiences, identify system gaps, and share recommendations for improving care and support.
Commitment to Equity
Supporting families across geography, culture, and community.
Improving access to care also means recognizing the different realities families face across Canada. For many Indigenous families and families living in rural or remote regions, healthcare access may be shaped by geography, systemic barriers, cultural safety, and historical inequities.
Cassie + Friends is committed to listening, learning, and working alongside communities to support more inclusive and equitable care.
Moving Forward
Building more connected care for families across Canada.
The Remote Communities Project helps Cassie + Friends better understand what families need when pediatric rheumatology care is far from home.
By continuing to listen to families, share findings, and work with healthcare and community partners, Cassie + Friends can help support more connected, responsive, and equitable care for children and youth living with rheumatic disease.
Related Links
Explore and participate in ongoing research.