Mental Health
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The annotations provided on this website are intended for informational and educational purposes only. They are written by SAHA's Health Policy Analyst, who are non-professionals and not scholars or experts in the field of South Asian health. While we strive to ensure the accuracy of the information interpreted and presented, these annotations should not be considered professional or academic interpretations. Readers are encouraged to refer to the original scholarly articles linked for comprehensive and authoritative insights. The inclusion of any article does not imply endorsement or validation of the content or its authors by the South Asian Health Alliance (SAHA)
Salam, Z., Odenigbo, O., Newbold, B. et al. Systemic and Individual Factors That Shape Mental Health Service Usage Among Visible Minority Immigrants and Refugees in Canada: A Scoping Review. Adm Policy Ment Health 49, 552–574 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-021-01183-x
Mental health disparities exist in immigrants/refugees, with them facing barriers to accessing mental health care services. Barriers are costs to MHCS, lack of culturally specific trauma MHCS, wait times/scheduling, language barriers, discrimination, and a lack of understanding over immigration experiences. While ethnically diverse areas were facilitators to finding representation amongst MHCS and Holistic Care were facilitators, with cultural brokers, translators and social workers. Identity played a key role in determining MHCS, someone who understands their background and/or has similar background as them.
Tiwari, S. K., & Wang, J. (2008). Ethnic differences in mental health service use among White, Chinese, South Asian and South East Asian populations living in Canada. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 43(11), 866–871. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0373-6
White people were more likely to use MHCS than Chinese and SA counterparts. Other studies lack SA research and study suggests more research on Asian and SA need to be conducted. Overall, amongst all MHCS trend was White people use these services more than SA pop. Unknown barriers exist that need to be further investigated in Canada.
Asanin, J., & Wilson, K. (2008). "I spent nine years looking for a doctor": exploring access to health care among immigrants in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Social science & medicine (1982), 66(6), 1271–1283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.11.043
Focus groups with diverse group of immigrants in Mississauga (35% were South Asian) revealed three majour barriers to accessing health services in their community: geographic, socio-cultural and economic factors. Paper goes in-depth and identifies sub-themes for each barrier