How Might your Community and Primary Care Reduce the Impact of Financial Strain

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Thank you for your interest in and involvement with the RIFS project. This project was a ground-breaking collaboration between primary care, public health and communities utilizing a collaborative approach to address income as a determinant of health within the Patient’s Medical Home, Health Neighbourhood, and the community, resulting in a stronger, more integrated health ecosystem for patients. We are grateful to the many teams who made the work such a success and continue to collaborate and take action to reduce financial strain.

With the formal RIFS project now complete, focus has shifted to enabling this work to grow and evolve in other clinics and communities. Visit the Alberta Health Services – Healthier Together website to learn more and stay up to date on the initiatives that result from this project.  


This website is a place where you can share your insights, experiences, and ideas in reducing impact on financial strain in your community.

Income is one of the most important factors that influences health. Financial strain is economic pressure that can cause stress and harm health.

Digital stories are a powerful way to create a meaningful discussion and simulate thoughtful change. We invite you to share the short videos with your teams, discuss what resonates (you may wish to use the questions at the end), what changes you might want to make and engage with others already doing this work using our Map and Forum.

The ‘Reducing the Impact of Financial Strain (RIFS)’ project will strengthen connections between community members and organizations including primary care teams. The aim is to collaboratively design local solutions to support health by addressing financial concerns in a sensitive, compassionate and sustainable way. While community looks at improving supports, Primary Care teams identify and support patients with financial concerns and help them access appropriate community supports.

Check back often for more videos and participate in the forum discussion


This website is a place where you can share your insights, experiences, and ideas in reducing impact on financial strain in your community.

Income is one of the most important factors that influences health. Financial strain is economic pressure that can cause stress and harm health.

Digital stories are a powerful way to create a meaningful discussion and simulate thoughtful change. We invite you to share the short videos with your teams, discuss what resonates (you may wish to use the questions at the end), what changes you might want to make and engage with others already doing this work using our Map and Forum.

The ‘Reducing the Impact of Financial Strain (RIFS)’ project will strengthen connections between community members and organizations including primary care teams. The aim is to collaboratively design local solutions to support health by addressing financial concerns in a sensitive, compassionate and sustainable way. While community looks at improving supports, Primary Care teams identify and support patients with financial concerns and help them access appropriate community supports.

Check back often for more videos and participate in the forum discussion

Discussions: All (12) Open (7)

  • Change Maker Webinar

    over 3 years ago
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    1 Response

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    Three multi-sectoral teams who have been working together to Reduce the Impact of Financial Strain are joined by two family physicians in a webinar that explored what they discovered and how those lessons might improve transitions from Home to Hospital to Home. What stands out to you? How might you used these digital stories to spark further conversations with your teams around these complex issues impacting health? 

  • What are key supports after being in hospital

    almost 4 years ago
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    When an individual with financial strain comes home after a stay in the hospital, follow up to primary care and referral and access to community supports is so important to their wellbeing and in reducing the risk of readmission.  Home to Hospital to Home Transition Guideline and related resources are available here.

    Tell us what a person centred transition back home and into the community should look like for families with financial strain? What have you observed and what has been helpful?

  • Puzzle Pieces

    about 4 years ago
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    Check out the digital story "Puzzle Pieces" by Tara. 

    Share your thoughts and reflections:

    1. What resonated with you?
    2. What role do you play or do you feel the health system should play in connecting individuals to local supports and the broader 'health neighborhood'?
    3. Since income is one of the most important factors impacting health, what health effects have you seen with patients and community members experiencing financial strain?
    4. How do you or do you think the health system, should assess for the social factors that impact the health of your patients/community?


  • Invisible

    almost 4 years ago
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    After you (and perhaps your team) have watched and discussed the digital story 'Invisible', We invite you to post your reflections in the online discussion. 

    1.What resonated with you/your team?

    2. How could financial strain be invisible in your community?

    3. in what ways could the "invisibility" of financial strain be made visible so that your patients and community members can receive the support they may need?

    4. Do you feel like you are aware of all the programs and services in your community that can help improve the health of patients?


  • Helpful Help

    almost 4 years ago
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    After you (and your team) have watched and discussed the digital story 'Helpful Help', we invite you to post your reflections in the online discussion. 

    1. What resonated with you?
    2. Do you feel like you have a good understanding of the daily reality of living with financial strain in your community?
    3. Can you share an example of how a deeper understanding of a person's life experiences shifted the help you provided?
    4. What would "helpful help" look like for those living with financial strain in your community?


  • Clinic and Community Partnerships

    over 4 years ago
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    1 Response

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    We are learning of so many great examples of how community and clinical teams are working together. Tell us about your clinic community partnership journey. What made it successful and what challenges did you face? How did it chnage the impact you had? Share any tools that might help others along the way.

  • What have you or your friends experienced when under financial strain

    over 5 years ago
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    5 Responses
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    Think about  times when you or people in your community were stressed due to finances.

    What have been some of the biggest challenges?

    Note: If you are comfortable, write the community you are from at the bottom of your post with *place. That way, community members can learn about unique community needs.

  • What are your community’s strengths in supporting those in financial stress?

    over 5 years ago
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    Health can be impact by factors outside the health system such as the places where people live, work and play. Thinking about your community environments and strengths

    • What you love about living in your community?
    • What do you see as the strengths of your community?
    • Thinking about people who are dealing with financial stress or when you are dealing with financial strain, can you share a situation where lives were positively impacted. What were key supports? What was important to them/you throughout their journey?
    Note: If you are comfortable, write the community you are from at the bottom of your post with *place. That way, community members can learn about unique community needs.

  • What can communities do to impact income, a key determinant of health?

    over 5 years ago
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    Share your thoughts and resources that might inspire communities with ideas to support financial strain and income as a determinant of health.  Here is one example: PovertyCosts. Poverty is a disease that is much cheaper to cure than to treat.




  • How do you think conversations about financial strain with your health team would change your care experience?

    over 5 years ago
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    2 Responses

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    ​Interacting with patients and community members in a sensitive and compassionate manner and working with them address financial stress in ways that are meaningful, relevant and sustainable is so important.

    McLeod River PCN in Whitecourt and AMA have shared a patient story that shows the impact of focusing on what matters to the patient. Patients stated they are feeling the team truly care and seek what really matters to them which can not be determined by a test. They say they no longer feel their relationship with providers are adversarial, trying to convince them of their needs. 

    What does sensitive and compassionate interaction look like to you?