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Ethnic differences in mental health service use among White, Chinese, South Asian and South East Asian populations living in Canada

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology volume 43, Article number: 866 (2008) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Health services in Canada are publicly funded. However, the use of health services, especially mental health services, by ethnic minority groups in Canada, has not been well studied.

Objectives

The objectives of the study were to estimate the 12-month prevalence of mental health service use by ethnicities, overall and among those with major depression, and to identify factors associated with mental health services use in different ethnic groups in Canada.

Methods

Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS-1.1) were used. Participants included in this analysis were white who were born in Canada (n = 108,192), white immigrants (n = 10,892), Chinese (n = 1,785), South Asian (n = 1,214), and South East Asian immigrants (n = 818). Participants were selected using multiple staged, stratified random sampling procedures from household residents aged 12 years or older in ten provinces.

Results

White people were more likely to have used mental health services than Chinese participants and those from South Asian and South East Asian regions. The Chinese participants appeared to be less likely to have used mental health services than those in the South Asian and South East Asian groups, in those without major depression.

Conclusions

In Canada, Asian immigrants are less likely to use mental health service use than white people. More studies are needed to examine factors affecting mental health service use in Asian immigrants living in North America.

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Acknowledgments

The analyses are done using the data from Statistics Canada. However, the opinions and views expressed do not represent those of Statistics Canada.

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Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Psychiatry, Dept. of Community Health Services, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Suresh K. Tiwari PhD & JianLi Wang PhD

  2. Room 127, Heritage Medical Research Building, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 4N1

    JianLi Wang PhD

Authors
  1. Suresh K. Tiwari PhD
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  2. JianLi Wang PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to JianLi Wang PhD.

Additional information

JianLi Wang is supported by a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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Tiwari, S.K., Wang, J. Ethnic differences in mental health service use among White, Chinese, South Asian and South East Asian populations living in Canada. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 43, 866 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0373-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0373-6

Keywords

  • ethnic differences
  • mental health service use
  • major depressive episode
  • prevalence
  • Asian immigrants