Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for structurally informed mental health services that are sensitive to social inequalities and cultural differences. Community-level services and organisations are often referred to as having the potential to play a key role in providing such services to migrants, yet not many studies have documented how these types of services have been organised and experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of our case study in Antwerp’s districts of Borgerhout and Antwerpen-Noord (Belgium) was to explore how community-level responses to the mental health impact of the COVID-19 crisis were organised and experienced by first-generation migrants and members of community-level organisations. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with first-generation migrants in Borgerhout and Antwerpen-Noord (n=19) and with professionals in the local psycho-social care sector (n=13). Results: Our findings highlight the complex drivers of migrants’ mental health and the unique value and indispensability of local-level services and organisations in providing mental-health related services, particularly in a crisis context like the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualities that emerged to be particularly important included organisations’ awareness of local needs; their flexible nature which allows them to address bottlenecks and fill gaps left by other services; their capacity to respond holistically to a broad spectrum of needs; their ability to offer culturally sensitive care and support; and their physical accessibility. However, our findings also demonstrate the fragility and fragmentation of these local-level services and initiatives. In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, this related to serious challenges to the necessary physical accessibility of organisations’ services; services and initiatives becoming overloaded; and widespread fragmentation and lack of oversight of the available services forming a real barrier for both service users and providers. Conclusions: This study underlines the importance of prioritising physical accessibility of mental health services at the community level, improving cultural sensitivity through training and employing professionals with a shared background or language proficiency with migrants, and promoting stronger collaborations between community-level organizations and city governments. The findings are informative to guide mental health policy and future crisis responses in similar communities and neighbourhoods.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for structurally informed mental health services that are sensitive to social inequalities and cultural differences. Community-level services and organisations are often referred to as having the potential to play a key role in providing such services to migrants, yet not many studies have documented how these types of services have been organised and experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of our case study in Antwerp’s districts of Borgerhout and Antwerpen-Noord (Belgium) was to explore how community-level responses to the mental health impact of the COVID-19 crisis were organised and experienced by first-generation migrants and members of community-level organisations. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with first-generation migrants in Borgerhout and Antwerpen-Noord (n = 19) and with professionals in the local psycho-social care sector (n=13). Results: Our findings highlight the complex drivers of migrants’ mental health and the unique value and indispensability of local-level services and organisations in providing mental-health related services, particularly in a crisis context like the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualities that emerged to be particularly important included organisations’ awareness of local needs; their flexible nature which allows them to address bottlenecks and fill gaps left by other services; their capacity to respond holistically to a broad spectrum of needs; their ability to offer culturally sensitive care and support; and their physical accessibility. However, our findings also demonstrate the fragility and fragmentation of these local-level services and initiatives. In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, this related to serious challenges to the necessary physical accessibility of organisations’ services; services and initiatives becoming overloaded; and widespread fragmentation and lack of oversight of the available services forming a real barrier for both service users and providers. Conclusions: This study underlines the importance of prioritising physical accessibility of mental health services at the community level, improving cultural sensitivity through training and employing professionals with a shared background or language proficiency with migrants, and promoting stronger collaborations between community-level organizations and city governments. The findings are informative to guide mental health policy and future crisis responses in similar communities and neighbourhoods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.