The mental health status of ethnocultural minorities in Ontario and their mental health care

Abstract

Background: Mental disorders are a leading cause of disability and early mortality. The objective of this study was to describe and compare psychosocial indicators and mental health service use among ethnoculturallydiverse Ontarians. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the Ontario Health Study pilot investigation. Residents were mailed an invitation to one of 3 assessment centres (urban, rural and northern sites) from March 2009 to July 2010. Participants had an interview with a nurse and completed a questionnaire on a touchscreen kiosk. The questionnaire included sociodemographic items, and scales assessing symptoms of depressive symptoms (CES-D) and anxiety (GAD-7), social support (Lubben Social Network Scale), stressful life events, and mental health service use. Results: Eight thousand two hundred thirty-five residents participated, among whom 6652 (82.4 %) self-reported their ethnocultural background as White, 225 (2.8 %) as South Asian, 222 (2.8 %) East Asian, 214 (2.7 %) Southeast Asian, 197 (2.4 %) Black, and 28 (0.3 %) as Aboriginal. Based on their sociodemographic characteristics, participants from these ethnocultural minority groups were matched to White participants. Black participants reported significantly greater stressful life events than White participants (p = .04), particularly death (p < .05), divorce (p = .002) and financial difficulties (p < .001). East Asian participants reported significantly less social support than their White counterparts (p < .001), and this was not confounded by measurement variance. Mental health service use was significantly lower in all ethnocultural minorities except Aboriginals, when compared to White participants (p = .001). Conclusions: There is a high burden of psychosocial distress in several preponderant ethnocultural minorities in Ontario; many of whom are not accessing available mental health services.

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Psychological Distress among Adolescents: Les Directives canadiennes en matière de mouvement sur 24 heures et la détresse psychologique chez les adolescents

“…These findings are not surprising because research has shown that being of non-White ethnic background is associated with more mental health problems. 62 With regards to distress, although K6 consistently showed very good reliability (as measured by Cronbach's alpha) when treated as a simple continuous scale, 4,23 our results showed that a twofactor model (representing anxiety and depressive symptoms) of the K6 had a better fit. These findings are consistent with previous studies indicating that a two-factor model representing anxiety and depression fit the data best in young adults 27 and older adults.…”

A cross-sectional study about associations between personality characteristics and mental health service utilization in a Korean national community sample of adults with psychiatric disorders

“…Most studies focused on socio-demographical predisposing factors, encompassing ethnic minorities [6, 7], male gender [8], and those with low education level [9]. Cultural barriers, such as stigma [10], misconception of mental health problems [11], and mental health illiteracy [12] may also shape negative attitudes toward professional service.…”

Cortisol Awakening Response and Acute Stress Reactivity in First Nations People

“…Similarly, there is evidence that First Nations people who represent ethnic minorities in their own country have poorer health relative to the mainstream population 5 . There is mounting evidence that First Nations people globally are affected by worse mental health relative to the mainstream population, including Aboriginal Canadians 6 7 , Maori in New Zealand 8 and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (respectfully hereafter Indigenous) people in Australia, who are more than twice as likely to be hospitalised due to a mental disorder 9 . It is estimated that by closing the health gap in Australia, 5600 disability adjusted life years (DALYs) could be saved each year 10 .…”