Keyword: immigrants

If tackling a complex issue is like building a puzzle, the most important step is to find all the pieces. How to start? Listen to people with experience. In my last blog, I began to share findings from the work of the Community of Interest (COI) for Racialized Populations and Mental Health and Addiction.

Tackling a complex issue can be like building a puzzle. Sometimes the first step is to find the pieces.

In my last blog, I introduced you to the Community of Interest (COI) for Racialized Populations and Mental Health and Addiction. Last year, the COI’s goal was to better understand how and why racialized communities in Ontario use the emergency department (ED) for mental health and addictions services. We also wanted to showcase promising and innovative practices that benefited racialized communities, service providers and the health system. To learn more about the COI and this work, please read my previous blog here: One Room, Many Voices, One Conversation.

Communities support our growth, action and change, both personally and professionally. In the mental health system, communities of dedicated, passionate and motivated collaborators often act as catalysts for knowledge exchange and action.

Our community came together around a shared understanding that mental health experiences are informed by experiences of race and racism, and that mental health policy, planning and service delivery must consider the needs and realities of racialized groups.

Although immigrants are generally healthier than people born in Canada, their health tends to decline over their time here. Access to health services is therefore essential, yet multiple barriers remain in the mental health context. As Laurence Kirmayer previously blogged, the challenges are complex and significant.

Nearly 20% of the Canadian population is foreign-born. Every year Canada welcomes approximately 250,000 migrants, 10% of whom are refugees. Providing quality health care to immigrants and refugees requires recognition of the unique factors that affect their mental health.