Migration and Mental Illness: A Review of Recent Research in Britain

Saúde, Migração e Direitos Humanos

“…Para Rack (1982); Kessler e Neighbors (1986); Littlewood e Lipsedge (1989); Doyle (1991); Ramos (1993Ramos ( , 2004Ramos ( , 2005; Narang e Murphy (1994); Anderson (1995); Reijeneveld (1998); Scheppers, Dongen, Dekker e Geertzen (2006); Sousa (2008), para além destes factores, os migrantes e as minorias étnicas têm mais fontes de stresse e possibilidade de sofrer os efeitos dos factores ambientais de stresse devido à interacção complexa de variados factores: precariedade das condições de habitação e de trabalho; baixo rendimento familiar; discriminação e racismo; conflitos culturais e intergeracionais, sobretudo entre os imigrantes e os filhos nascidos no país de acolhimento; isolamento social; dificuldades comunicacionais e linguísticas, sobretudo no caso das mulheres, muitas vezes confinadas ao espaço familiar e doméstico; e, ainda, ao facto de possuírem menos recursos para enfrentar o stresse, à perda das referências básicas e às mudanças no espaço vital, nomeadamente a adaptação ao meio urbano e a novo estilo de vida. Os migrantes enfrentam, igualmente, mais limitações a serviços e bens que promovem a saúde e previnem a doença, apresentando mais dificuldades de acesso aos serviços, nomeadamente, de saúde recorrendo, por exemplo, menos aos cuidados pré-natais e aos rastreios de cancro do que os nacionais.…”

Acculturation, stress et santé mentale chez des immigrants libanais à Montréal

“…Les résultats ont cependant souvent été contradictoires (Furnham et Bochner, 1986;Sayegh, 1985). Alors que les immigrants aux États-Unis présentaient des taux plus élevés d'admission psychiatrique (Sanua, 1970), certaines études en Australie et en Angleterre ont montré que ces taux variaient selon le pays d'origine des immigrants (Krupinski, 1967;Rack, 1982). Au Canada, Murphy (1973aMurphy ( , 1973b) a montré que les taux d'hospitalisation pour les immigrants et pour les Canadiens de naissance sont semblables.…”

Mental health, race and ethnicity: a retrospective study of the care of ethnic minorities and whites in a psychiatric unit

“…Studies based on hospital admissions (Carf)enter & Brocfangton 1980, Dean et al 1981, Rwegellera 1977 show an mcreased overall rate of mental illness disorder among West Indians The same study by Carpenter & Brockmgton (1980) showed that Asians have an increased rate of first-time psyduatnc hospital admissions, although they failed to differentiate between those bom m India and Pakistan Dean et al (1981) showed that Pakistams have fewer first-time admissions that the Bntish, while Indians have a higher rate However, since the mentioned studies sampled hospital m-patients only, they are biased in favour of major psychiatnc disorders and may therefore relate more narrowly to those illnesses that require admission rather than to the total psychiatnc morbidity Of West Indian patients admitted to hospitai schizophrenia appears to be the commonest diagnosis (Cochrane 1977,Dean etal 1981) However, Hemsi (1967, as quoted m London (1986), and Rwegellera (1977) do not agree with these findings Among Asians, schizophrema is also the commonest hospitai diagnosis and occurs with a higher than expected frequency (Cochrane 1977, Dean etal 1981 When two senous mental illnesses, schizophrema and the affective psychoses, are combmed and compared to milder psychological disturbances such as phobias and anxiety, the rate of diagnoses differs between groups For Enghsh men the psychoses are twice as common, for Asians, five to six times as common, while for West Indians they are 16 times as common (Littlewood & Lipsedge 1989) This may mean that for the same sort of problem a // Crowley amis Simmons diagnosis of psychosis is given more readily to members of some ethmc groups than others Rack (1982a) and Littlewood & Lipsedge <1989) have drawn attenhon to the pitfalls of diagnosing schizophrenia when English is not the first language and where cultural beliefs differ Adebimpe (1981) suggests that black patients run a higher nsk of bemg misdiagnosed than white patients They may be overdiagnosed m one area and underdiagnosed m another The argument, however, appears to be based on a modest body of circumstanhal evidence…”