This module provided a brief overview of Canada's mental health system, including the prevalence of mental illness, its effects and the legislation that affects clients. This module also introduced information on mental illness among the general population compared to that of immigrants and refugees, and examined the effects of social determinants of health and migration on newcomer populations.

Immigrants and refugees have higher incidence rates than the general population for some mental disorders, while for other disorders there is no significant difference in rates between newcomers and the general population. Deeper analysis showed that specific immigrant subgroups have higher incidence rates of certain disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) than both fellow migrants from other regions and the general population. Such variability demonstrates the need to consider the differences within the immigrant and refugee population and their experiences of mental illness. This further emphasizes how a one-size-fits-all approach to mental health care and support cannot work.

Repository of Resources

Congratulations on finishing Module 1. Please note that, while you revisit this module over the six weeks of the course, course content will no longer be available once your course session has ended. We welcome you to visit the repository of online course resources at any point to access resources from Module 1: Immigration and the Social Determinants of Health.

Access the Repository of Resources

The next module examines the most common mental disorders experienced by immigrants and refugees in Canada.

References

1.1 — Understanding mental health in Canada

• Canadian Mental Health Association. (2014). Stigma and Discrimination Around Mental Health and Substance Use Problems. HeretoHelp.

• Angus Reid Institute. (2020, April 27). Worry, Gratitude & Boredom: As COVID-19 affects mental, financial health, who fares better; who is worse? Retrieved from https://angusreid.org/covid19-mental-health/

• Assembly of First Nations & Health Canada. (2015). First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework. Retrieved from: https://thunderbirdpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/24-14-1273-FN-MentalWellness-Framework-EN05_low.pdf

• Canadian Mental Health Association. (2021, July 19). Fast Facts about Mental Health and Mental Illness. Retrieved from CMHA: https://cmha.ca/brochure/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/

• Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2017). Strengthening the Case for Investing in Canada's Mental Health System: Economic Considerations.Ottawa: Mental Health Commission of Canada. Statistics Canada. (2015, November 30).

• Statistics Canada. (2015, November 30). Disability in Canada: Initial findings from the Canadian Survey on Disability. Retrieved from Statistics Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2013002-eng.htm

• Statistics Canada. (2019, July 18). Suicide in Canada: Key statistics (infographic). Retrieved from Government of Canada:

• Statistics Canada. 2021. Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health, February to May 2021. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210927/dq210927a-eng.htm

• Statistics Canada. 2020. Impacts on Mental Health. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-631-x/2020004/s3-eng.htm

• Mental Health Commission of Canada (2014). Why investing in mental health will contribute to Canada's economic prosperity and to the sustainability of our health care system. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/wp-content/uploads/drupal/MHStrategy_CaseForInvestment_ENG_0_1.pdf.

1.2 — Understanding immigration in Canada

• Canadian Mental Health Association. (2014). Stigma and Discrimination Around Mental Health and Substance Use Problems. HeretoHelp.

• Angus Reid Institute. (2020, April 27). Worry, Gratitude & Boredom: As COVID-19 affects mental, financial health, who fares better; who is worse? Retrieved from https://angusreid.org/covid19-mental-health/

• Canadian Mental Health Association. (2021, July 19). Fast Facts about Mental Health and Mental Illness. Retrieved from CMHA: https://cmha.ca/brochure/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/

• Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2017). Strengthening the Case for Investing in Canada's Mental Health System: Economic Considerations. Ottawa: Mental Health Commission of Canada. Statistics Canada. (2015, November 30).

• Disability in Canada: Initial findings from the Canadian Survey on Disability. Retrieved from Statistics Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2013002-eng.htm

• Canadian Mental Health Association. (2021, July 19). Fast Facts about Mental Health and Mental Illness. Retrieved from CMHA: https://cmha.ca/brochure/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/

• Statistics Canada. (2019, July 18). Suicide in Canada: Key statistics (infographic). Retrieved from Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/suicide-canada-key-statistics-infographic.html

1.3 — Mental health of immigrants and refugees

• Alegría, M., NeMoyer, A., Falgas, I., Wang, Y., & Alvarez, K. (2018). Social Determinants of Mental Health: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go. Current Psychiatry Reports, 20(11).

• American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress and Health Disparities: Contexts, Mechanisms, and Interventions Among Racial/Ethnic Minority and Low Socioeconomic Status Populations. Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pi/health-equity/resources/stress-report

• Carroll, H., Luzes, M., Freier, L. F., & Bird, M. D. (2020). The migration journey and mental health: Evidence from Venezuelan forced migration. SSM - Population Health.

• Cassidy, H. (2022). The labor market impact of Covid-19 on immigrants. IZA World of Labor.

• Compton, M. T., & Shim, R. S. (2015). The Social Determinants of Mental Health. Focus, 13(4), 419 - 425.

• Farahani, H., Joubert, N., Anand, J. C., Toikko, T., & Tavakol, M. (2021). A Systematic Review of the Protective and Risk Factors Influencing the Mental Health of Forced Migrants: Implications for Sustainable Intercultural Mental Health Practice. Social Sciences, 334.

• Government of Canada. (2020, October 07). Social determinants of health and health inequalities. Retrieved from Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health.html

• Hynie, M. (2017). The Social Determinants of Refugee Mental Health in the Post-Migration Context: A Critical Review. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 297 - 303.

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. (2018). 2018 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.

• Jaime Ballard, E. W. (2019). Immigrant and Refugee Families, 2nd Ed. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minneapolis Libraries Publishing.

• Kaida, L., Hou, F., & Stick, M. (2020). The Long-term Economic Outcomes of Refugee Private Sponsorship. Statistics Canada.

• Kim, Y.-M., & Cho, S.-i. (2020). Socioeconomic status, work-life conflict, and mental health. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 703 - 712.

• Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2019). Immigrant, refugee, ethnocultural and racialized populations and the social determinants of health: A Review of 2016 Census Data. Mental Health Commission of Canada.

• Ng, E., & Zhang, H. (2020, August 19). The mental health of immigrants and refugees: Canadian evidence from a nationally linked database. Retrieved from Statistic Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2020008/article/00001-eng.htm

• Picot, G., Zhang, Y., & Hou, F. (2019). Labour Market Outcomes Among Refugees to Canada. Statistics Canada.

• Randle, J., Hu, Z., & Thurston, Z. (2021). Housing experiences in Canada: Recent Immigrants in 2018. Statistics Canada.

• Reiss, F., Meyrose, A.-K., Otto, C., Lampert, T., Klasen, F., & Ravens-Sieberer, U. (2019). Socioeconomic status, stressful life situations and mental health problems in children and adolescents: Results of the German BELLA cohort-study. PLoS One, 14(3).

• Salami, B. (2017). “Mental health of immigrants and non-immigrants in Canada: Evidence from the Canadian Health Measures Survey and service provider interviews in Alberta. Alberta. Retrieved from https://policywise.com/wp-content/uploads/resources/2017/04/2017-04APR-27-Scientific-Report-15SM-SalamiHegadoren.pdf

• Statistics Canada. (2021). Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021, Census year 2021. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-301-X2021001 Retrieved from: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/dict/index-eng.cfm

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2021b). Master Glossary of Terms. Retrieved from: https://www.unhcr.org/master-glossary.html

• WHO. (2021, August 31). Mental health and forced displacement. Retrieved from World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-and-forced-displacement