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Immigrant Mental Health, A Public Health Issue: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Author

Listed:
  • Usha George

    (Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, 99 Gerrard Street East, SHE-690; 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada)

  • Mary S. Thomson

    (Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, 99 Gerrard Street East, SHE-690; 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Ferzana Chaze

    (Community Studies, Sheridan College, 7899 McLaughlin Road, Brampton, ON L6Y 5H9, Canada
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Sepali Guruge

    (School of Nursing; Ryerson University, Faculty of Community Services; 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada)

Abstract

The Mental Health Commission of Canada’s (MHCC) strategy calls for promoting the health and wellbeing of all Canadians and to improve mental health outcomes. Each year, one in every five Canadians experiences one or more mental health problems, creating a significant cost to the health system. Mental health is pivotal to holistic health and wellbeing. This paper presents the key findings of a comprehensive literature review of Canadian research on the relationship between settlement experiences and the mental health and well-being of immigrants and refugees. A scoping review was conducted following a framework provided by Arskey and O’Malley (Int J Soc Res Methodol 8:19–32, 2005). Over two decades of relevant literature on immigrants’ health in Canada was searched. These included English language peer-reviewed publications from relevant online databases Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, Healthstar, ERIC and CINAHL between 1990 and 2015. The findings revealed three important ways in which settlement affects the mental health of immigrants and refugees: through acculturation related stressors, economic uncertainty and ethnic discrimination. The recommendations for public health practice and policy are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Usha George & Mary S. Thomson & Ferzana Chaze & Sepali Guruge, 2015. "Immigrant Mental Health, A Public Health Issue: Looking Back and Moving Forward," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-25, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:10:p:13624-13648:d:57823
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Thespina Yamanis & Mannat Malik & Ana María Del Río-González & Andrea L. Wirtz & Erin Cooney & Maren Lujan & Ruby Corado & Tonia Poteat, 2018. "Legal Immigration Status is Associated with Depressive Symptoms among Latina Transgender Women in Washington, DC," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Finnigan, Charlotte & Brown, Jason & Al-Adeimi, Mohamed & Al-Abed, Rajaa, 2023. "Self-reported stressors experienced by migrant youth in Canada," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    4. Jun Wang & Ke Liu & Jing Zheng & Jiali Liu & Liming You, 2017. "Prevalence of Mental Health Problems and Associated Risk Factors among Rural-to-Urban Migrant Children in Guangzhou, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, November.
    5. Kénora Chau & Bernard Kabuth & Nearkasen Chau, 2016. "Association between Suicide Ideation and Attempts and Being an Immigrant among Adolescents, and the Role of Socioeconomic Factors and School, Behavior, and Health-Related Difficulties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-15, November.
    6. Mabel Ho & Eleanor Pullenayegum & David Burnes & Esme Fuller-Thomson, 2022. "Successful Aging among Immigrant and Canadian-Born Older Adults: Findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-18, October.

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