Module 7 Introduction

The Canadian population will continue to change due to immigration. Service providers will keep working with immigrants and refugees from different races, cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Newcomers rely on care providers to connect them to essential social services and meet their health needs. However, there is an inherent power differential between immigrant and refugee service users and care providers. In this relationship, the care provider is often seen as the expert with authority. Module 7 explores how working with different populations requires those offering services to be reflective about their work and examine their power and privilege in the relationship (Clarke & Wan, 2019) so they can deliver care and support in a way that further enhances the settlement and integration of newcomers to Canada.

At the end of this module you will be able to

• Define health equity and explain the importance of recognizing the diverse needs of immigrants and refugees to reduce health inequities.
• Discuss the different levels and forms of racism and its effect on mental health for new immigrants and refugees.
• Explain anti-Black racism and its impacts on mental health.
• Define bias and the role of implicit bias in racism.
• Identify possible ways of adopting an anti-racist approach and following the anti-oppression framework for improvising the mental health of immigrants and refugees.
• Define intersectionality and explain how intersecting identities can contribute to multiple levels of oppression for immigrants and refugees.
• Explain why the intersectional model is important for improving the mental health of immigrants and refugees.
• Describe cultural humility and discuss the key elements care providers need to focus on while treating people from different cultures.
• Define allyship and explain how care providers can use it to dismantle racism.