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Canadian Immigrant Mental Health

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Mental Health, Mental Illness and Migration

Part of the book series: Mental Health and Illness Worldwide ((MHIW))

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Abstract

Canada is a nation of immigrants, with about a fifth of the total population being foreign born. It has come a long way from exclusionary immigration policies to embracing multiculturalism, a mosaic vision of society, with the province of Quebec pursuing a model of interculturalism. Nevertheless, the examination of the ‘healthy immigrant effect’ suggests that for some immigrants, their physical and mental health deteriorate to non-immigrant level or in some cases worse. Some of this may be accounted for by acculturative challenges as well as the impact of social determinants of health. To enhance the mental health of immigrants, systemic changes are needed to address social inequities and oppression, reflected in the higher unemployment and underemployment rates, poverty, racism, discrimination, and the culmination of intersectional marginalization. Immigrants often underutilize mental health services until later on in the course of illness due to multiple access barriers. Further, cultural competence at both the clinical level as well as the organization level is needed to provide effective care. A number of care models in Canada have begun to address these needs, including ethnospecific services and the cultural consultation model.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Kenneth Fung

  2. Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Jaswant Guzder

Authors
  1. Kenneth Fung
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  2. Jaswant Guzder
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth Fung .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Ibn Rushd University Psychiatric Centre, Casablanca, Morocco

    Driss Moussaoui

  2. Centre for Affective Disorders, IoPPN, Kings College, London, UK

    Dinesh Bhugra

  3. School of Psychology, University of East London and Centre for Psychiatry, within the Wolfson Institute for Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Rachel Tribe

  4. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

    Antonio Ventriglio

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Fung, K., Guzder, J. (2021). Canadian Immigrant Mental Health. In: Moussaoui, D., Bhugra, D., Tribe, R., Ventriglio, A. (eds) Mental Health, Mental Illness and Migration. Mental Health and Illness Worldwide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2366-8_11

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