Research aims to improve mental health services for refugees

When refugees arrive in Canada, they often carry with them the difficult experiences that made them flee their country of origin. Armed conflict, the instability of a refugee camp, and social upheaval can leave not only physical wounds but also psychological scars. Also, there is often added stress from navigating a new environment and being far from familiar support networks.

This emotional and physical upheaval can create serious stress and other mental health challenges for new Canadians. A new research study, led by scientists in CAMH’s Social Equity and Health Research unit, is looking at ways to improve the mental health of this vulnerable population.

Dr. Laura Simich and Biljana Vasilevska of CAMH’s Social Equity and Health Research unit are looking at ways to improve the mental health of refugee populations.

According to principal investigator Dr. Laura Simich there are pockets of service excellence across Canada, but there continues to be a real disconnect between the healthcare system and refugees’ health care needs. “Settlement services providers understand the experiences of refugees but don’t know the best health care approaches to help them. At the same time, healthcare providers can help but they don’t know how to deal with the experiences of refugees.”

The Refugee Mental Health Practices study is focused on service bridging; uncovering successful mental health services and ways of providing support and integrating these best practices into a system that is beneficial for service providers and new Canadians who need assistance. For example, this project may help hospitals like CAMH understand how they can provide direct or indirect service to new Canadians in need of mental health support, and also help other people who work with refugees to understand mental health needs and resources.

The project team is currently starting the first component of the project, a national environmental scan of organizations that are actively working to meet the mental health needs of refugees in Canada. And the response from service providers has been very positive. As Dr. Simich explains, people are very eager to participate in the project and there’s a huge sense of good will towards the research. “We’re also experiencing a confluence of interest,” says Simich. “Both grassroots organizations and policy makers want to share and learn about good examples of practice and there’s a genuine interest in finding and replicating solutions by looking at what people are doing and what has developed organically.”

Once the environmental scan is complete, the research team will move on to understanding the landscape of available services by developing case studies of sites throughout the country that emerge as examples of good mental health practice for refugees. The team anticipates working with experts in Vancouver, the Prairies, Montreal and Halifax.

Dr. Simich and her team will also develop a description of types of good mental health practices and conditions that promote refugee resilience and recovery. Finally, they will create and disseminate educational materials (in English and French) for those who provide mental health-related support and services for refugees. Project completion is expected by the end of 2010. “You have to work fast when you have urgent needs”, says Dr. Simich.

Dr. Simich’s goal for the Refugee Mental Health Practices study is to help alleviate the disconnect between the experiences of refugees and service practice, and improve the tools available to organizations that assist refugees. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the mental health of new Canadians.

Funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Refugee Mental Health Practices study will provide valuable information on the available services to meet the mental health needs of this vulnerable population across Canada. To learn more about the project, contact Research Coordinator Biljana Vasilevska at 416-535-8501, ext. 7615 or biljana_vasilevska@camh.net.

 

 

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