This research project is undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, via the Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides research program.
Project Overview and Purpose
Canada has welcomed a growing number of immigrants and refugees in recent years, which enriches the cultural fabric of Canada. However, newcomers face various post-migration challenges (e.g., employment, finances, food security, racism), which can negatively impact their mental health and wellbeing.
To address these post-migration challenges and as part of the Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides research program, this 3-year research project aims to develop mental health education programs that are culturally relevant and responsive to the unique challenges faced by newcomers in the Edmonton region.
Research Questions
The questions this research project aims to answer are:
1) What do immigrant stakeholders identify as mental health education needs?
2) What are the key elements of an effective culturally safe mental health education intervention?
3) What are the facilitators and barriers of engaging immigrant stakeholders in effective and equitable co-design of mental health education intervention?
4) What critical mental health policy actions do immigrant stakeholders identify?
Community-Based Participatory Approach
This research study is taking a community-based participatory approach in partnership with two immigrant community organizations (Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op and the Memory Keepers Association) to:
Identify mental health education needs from the community grassroots level,
Draw upon existing mental health knowledge, lived experiences, and cultural/traditional knowledge systems of immigrant communities to co-design responsive interventions,
Integrate cultural practices into programming as identified by community partners,
Pilot and evaluate the co-designed mental health education program, and
Identify key policy actions to improve mental health equity for immigrants.
Project Implementation Phases
The research team and community partners will share knowledge in Community Learning for Empowerment Groups (CLEGs; Yohani et al., 2023) to identify key mental health education needs.
The end goal of Phase 1 is to co-design a mental health education curriculum.
The mental health education program will be piloted with community partner stakeholders, and feedback about the curriculum and cultural relevance of the MHE program will be gathered.
In-depth interviews and group reflection sessions about program experience, implementation, and effectiveness will occur.
Recommendations for policy and practice will also be developed.
Development of a community-informed MHE model
Anticipated Outcomes
Increasing access to culturally relevant mental health information and resources,
Building confidence in supporting community mental health needs, and
Developing a community-informed mental health education model.
Providing community-driven insights to inform local and national mental health equity initiatives, and
Sharing learnings through publications, conferences and local symposiums.
As a whole, this project seeks to address inequities, promote successful integration, and enhance the overall wellbeing of immigrants and refugees in Canada during this critical period of increased migration.
The insights gained have the potential to inform more inclusive and equitable mental health practices and policies locally and across Canada.
References
Yohani, S., Kirova, A., Georgis, R., Gokiert, R., Taylor, M., & Tahir, S. (2023). Creating community learning for
empowerment groups: an innovative model for participatory research partnerships with refugee communities. Frontiers in Education, 8. https://www.doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1164485
