Other Titles

Session A 02

Abstract

The mental health of immigrant and refugee children is a combined product of personal, social, cultural, and economic, pre-, and post-migratory factors. Cultural diversity, institutional receptivity, and social support mediate well-being of immigrant and refugee children in Canada. This presentation will provide a review of recent research and offer recommendations. Purpose: Globally, millions of children migrate across borders. It is predicted that by 2036, the number of immigrant children in Canada will increase. The purpose of this presentation is to report findings of a review of existing recent research on factors affecting immigrant and refugee children's mental health in Canada. Based on the review findings, we have suggested policy-, practice- and research-recommendations to improve immigrant and refugee children"s mental health. Methods: We conducted a literature review of primary studies focused on mental health of immigrant and refugee children in Canada. Medline, Embase, PubMed, and CINAHL were searched for publications between January 2010 and August 2020. After careful review of the title, abstract, and full length paper; a total of 22 articles met the inclusion criteria.

Results: Key findings pertain to the influence of several factors on the mental health of immigrant children including age and length of stay, arrival assistance from family, immigration status, history of trauma and abuse, Gross National Product of the country of origin, daily life stressors, academic performance, experiences of violence, social support from the host country, access to the host country, maternal depression and conflict, harsh versus supportive parenting, family connectedness, cultural distance and connectedness, and acculturation. Studies have reported that immigrant children aged 10-19, irrespective of their immigration status, often face ethnic victimization at school and in the neighborhood. Racial stratification in sectors like education, health, and employment leads to stressors that perpetuate oppression, domination, and victimization. These stressors result in psychological exhaustion as well as emotional suffering and prevent immigrants from accessing professional mental health services.

Conclusion: There is a dire need to equip front line healthcare workers with knowledge, skills, and attitudes to promote safe and quality outcomes for immigrant and refugee children in Canada. Reflection of diversity and inclusivity in mental health practices and policies can influence actions in a primary care setting and would reduce accessibility gaps and barriers among immigrant and refugee children in Canada. References:

  • Beiser, M., & Hou, F. (2016). Mental health effects of premigration trauma and postmigration discrimination on refugee youth in Canada. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 204(6), 464-470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000516
  • Brabant, L. H., Lapierre, S., Damant, D., Dube-Quenum, M., Lessard, G., & Fournier, C. (2016). Immigrant children: Their experience of violence at school and community in host country. Children & Society, 30(3), 241-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12131
  • Brassart, E., Prévost, C., Bétrisey, C., Lemieux, M., & Desmarais, C. (2017). Strategies developed by service providers to enhance treatment engagement by immigrant parents raising a child with a disability. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(4), 1230-1244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0646-8
  • Burgos, M., Al-Adeimi, M., & Brown, J. (2017). Protective factors of family life for immigrant youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-016-0462-4
  • Elsayed, D., Song, J. H., Myatt, E., Colasante, T., & Malti, T. (2019). Anger and sadness regulation in refugee children: The roles of pre-and post-migratory factors. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 50(5), 846-855. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00887-4
  • Salami, B., Salma, J., Hegadoren, K., Meherali, S., Kolawole, T., & Diaz, E. (2019). Sense of community belonging among immigrants: Perspective of immigrant service providers. Public Health, 167, 28-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.10.017
  • Salami, B., Yaskina, M., Hegadoren, K., Diaz, E., Meherali, S., Rammohan, A., & Ben-Shlomo, Y. (2017). Migration and social determinants of mental health: Results from the Canadian health measures survey. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 108(4), 362-367. https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.108.6105
  • United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF. (2018). Children on the move, Key facts & figures. https://data.unicef.org/resources/children-move-key-facts-figures/
  • Woodgate, R. L., Busolo, D. S., Crockett, M., Dean, R. A., Amaladas, M. R., & Plourde, P. J. (2017). A qualitative study on African immigrant and refugee families" experiences of accessing primary health care services in Manitoba, Canada: It"s not easy! International Journal for Equity in Health, 16(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0510-x.
  • World Health Organization. (2020). Indicator metadata registry details. WHO | World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/1144

Author Details

Nazish Nazish, MSN
Geriatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit, Saint Joseph Hospital, Thunderbay, ON, Canada
Bukola Oladunni Salami, PhD, MN, RN
Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Olga Petrovskaya, PhD
Faculty of Nursing, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada

Sigma Membership

Mu Sigma

Lead Author Affiliation

Saint Joseph Hospital, Thunderbay, Ontario, Canada

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document, Video Recording

Study Design/Type

Literature Review

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Children, Immigrants, Mental Health

Conference Name

32nd International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Virtual Event

Conference Year

2020

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

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Improving the Mental Health of Immigrant and Refugee Children in Canada

Virtual Event

The mental health of immigrant and refugee children is a combined product of personal, social, cultural, and economic, pre-, and post-migratory factors. Cultural diversity, institutional receptivity, and social support mediate well-being of immigrant and refugee children in Canada. This presentation will provide a review of recent research and offer recommendations. Purpose: Globally, millions of children migrate across borders. It is predicted that by 2036, the number of immigrant children in Canada will increase. The purpose of this presentation is to report findings of a review of existing recent research on factors affecting immigrant and refugee children's mental health in Canada. Based on the review findings, we have suggested policy-, practice- and research-recommendations to improve immigrant and refugee children"s mental health. Methods: We conducted a literature review of primary studies focused on mental health of immigrant and refugee children in Canada. Medline, Embase, PubMed, and CINAHL were searched for publications between January 2010 and August 2020. After careful review of the title, abstract, and full length paper; a total of 22 articles met the inclusion criteria.

Results: Key findings pertain to the influence of several factors on the mental health of immigrant children including age and length of stay, arrival assistance from family, immigration status, history of trauma and abuse, Gross National Product of the country of origin, daily life stressors, academic performance, experiences of violence, social support from the host country, access to the host country, maternal depression and conflict, harsh versus supportive parenting, family connectedness, cultural distance and connectedness, and acculturation. Studies have reported that immigrant children aged 10-19, irrespective of their immigration status, often face ethnic victimization at school and in the neighborhood. Racial stratification in sectors like education, health, and employment leads to stressors that perpetuate oppression, domination, and victimization. These stressors result in psychological exhaustion as well as emotional suffering and prevent immigrants from accessing professional mental health services.

Conclusion: There is a dire need to equip front line healthcare workers with knowledge, skills, and attitudes to promote safe and quality outcomes for immigrant and refugee children in Canada. Reflection of diversity and inclusivity in mental health practices and policies can influence actions in a primary care setting and would reduce accessibility gaps and barriers among immigrant and refugee children in Canada. References:

  • Beiser, M., & Hou, F. (2016). Mental health effects of premigration trauma and postmigration discrimination on refugee youth in Canada. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 204(6), 464-470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000516
  • Brabant, L. H., Lapierre, S., Damant, D., Dube-Quenum, M., Lessard, G., & Fournier, C. (2016). Immigrant children: Their experience of violence at school and community in host country. Children & Society, 30(3), 241-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12131
  • Brassart, E., Prévost, C., Bétrisey, C., Lemieux, M., & Desmarais, C. (2017). Strategies developed by service providers to enhance treatment engagement by immigrant parents raising a child with a disability. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(4), 1230-1244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0646-8
  • Burgos, M., Al-Adeimi, M., & Brown, J. (2017). Protective factors of family life for immigrant youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-016-0462-4
  • Elsayed, D., Song, J. H., Myatt, E., Colasante, T., & Malti, T. (2019). Anger and sadness regulation in refugee children: The roles of pre-and post-migratory factors. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 50(5), 846-855. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00887-4
  • Salami, B., Salma, J., Hegadoren, K., Meherali, S., Kolawole, T., & Diaz, E. (2019). Sense of community belonging among immigrants: Perspective of immigrant service providers. Public Health, 167, 28-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.10.017
  • Salami, B., Yaskina, M., Hegadoren, K., Diaz, E., Meherali, S., Rammohan, A., & Ben-Shlomo, Y. (2017). Migration and social determinants of mental health: Results from the Canadian health measures survey. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 108(4), 362-367. https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.108.6105
  • United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF. (2018). Children on the move, Key facts & figures. https://data.unicef.org/resources/children-move-key-facts-figures/
  • Woodgate, R. L., Busolo, D. S., Crockett, M., Dean, R. A., Amaladas, M. R., & Plourde, P. J. (2017). A qualitative study on African immigrant and refugee families" experiences of accessing primary health care services in Manitoba, Canada: It"s not easy! International Journal for Equity in Health, 16(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0510-x.
  • World Health Organization. (2020). Indicator metadata registry details. WHO | World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/1144