Mental Health of African Immigrants

Mental Health of African Immigrants. Immigrants often undergo various challenges while obtaining healthcare in the U.S. Often, they fail to get treated especially when related to mental challenges due to existing factors. These factors are such as language barriers, lack of insurance, high cost of services, and lack of information to navigate the healthcare system.

Often immigrants are subjected to mental health illiteracy from parents and family hence them not understanding the need for the decision to go ahead and seek medications. The other barrier might be fear of stigmatization in case they get diagnosed with mental health issues.

Many of the articles addressing immigrants have addressed similar issues concerning their mental health and the challenge to access healthcare (Glacco, Manatov & Priebe,2014). Immigrants just like other populations have a right to access healthcare and hence the need to address mental health challenges which is a key issue. These challenges, therefore, leave immigrants with untreated mental health conditions that might as well affect their lives and might lead to other conditions.

In my search for related articles addressing barriers that immigrants face while getting treated is that I made use of databases and keywords that have the words mental health barriers for immigrants in the US and located recent ones to be used in the discussion. I choose the seven articles because each of them gives clear sentiments about the same and gives solutions towards addressing the challenge among immigrants in the U.S.

The articles along belong to my program area of psychology and they come in handy towards ensuring adverse content about mental health and psychology and barriers that immigrants face as well as solutions towards these challenges in ensuring better health for an immigrant who lives in the U.S.

Derr, A. S. (2016). Mental health service use among immigrants in the United States: A systematic review. Psychiatric Services, 67(3), 265-274.

Derr, the author of the concept article about the mental health of immigrants confirms that this group of people faces challenges associated with immigration that might lead to mental health issues. To make it worse, their access to mental health is minimal leaving them at risk of untreated mental health conditions.

The research focuses on the utilization of mental health services among these immigrants who inform future research efforts. Results show that immigrants from Asia and Latin America use mental health services at lower rates compared to non-immigrants despite equal needs. Lower use has been associated with men. The structural challenges associated are such as high costs, language barriers, and lack of insurance.

Nadeem, E., Lange, J. M., Edge, D., Fongwa, M., Belin, T., & Miranda, J. (2007). Does stigma keep poor young immigrant and US-born Black and Latina women from seeking mental health care?. Psychiatric Services, 58(12), 1547-1554.

Nadeem and their colleagues conducted a study that addresses if Stigma can keep Young Immigrants and the other U.S born black Americans from seeking mental health care. However, after the team controlled demographic characteristics about stigma concerns and access to care.

Overall conclusions of the research concluded that stigma can be meaningful and can greatly impact treatment seeking. Immigrant women especially U.S born black women and Latino women are endorsed with lower frequencies and are the population that reported more stigma-related issues.

Wohler, Y., & Dantas, J. A. (2017). Barriers accessing mental health services among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) immigrant women in Australia: policy implications. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 19(3), 697-701.

The two authors address immigrant women and refugees from ethnic groups who encounter multiple challenges to access mental health care. A systematic review was hence conducted on the prevalence rate of mental health challenges among CALD women in Australia.

Consequently, this led to the authors finding recommendations to handle such barriers such as; language and communication requirements, support for gender research, ensuring cultural responsiveness in service delivery as well as reviewing immigration policies and claims, and finally engaging in the social integration of immigrations.

All this will fight the challenge among immigrants and ethnic groups to access mental health care and keep healthy. Women in Australia documented logistical, care providers, and preference to come up with alternative interventions as well as language and communication to fight mental health services.

Gaston, G. B., Earl, T. R., Nisanci, A., & Glomb, B. (2016). Perception of mental health services among Black Americans. Social Work in Mental Health, 14(6), 676-695.

Gaston and other authors addressed the perception of mental health services, especially among Black Americans. The Black American population is more diverse and can extrapolate differences. The team of authors came up to give findings on mental health services.

The findings concluded that more research was indeed required to understand the concept of mental health among minorities and immigrants. This way, mental health was not prioritized among the Black population, the main causal factors for mental health challenges are stigmatization, racism, and discrimination even in healthcare which makes the population hesitant in terms of getting help with mental health care.

These remain to be the main cultural factors that hinder success in engaging in mental health talks, especially among the black population.

Fauk, N. K., Ziersch, A., Gesesew, H., Ward, P., Green, E., Oudih, E., … & Mwanri, L. (2021). Migrants and service providers’ perspectives of barriers to accessing mental health services in South Australia: A case of African migrants with a refugee background in south Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), 8906.

Fauk and his team on the other hand have focused more on mental health being addressed as a major challenge among populations which is why it could be addressed better to solve the situation.

The use of qualitative inquiries has come in handy to articulate the issue of insight into mental health challenges. However, the team concluded about overcoming barriers that come with healthcare such as accessing a wide variety of solutions such as education on mental health for the specific population and taking part inconsistent.

Services about cultures and how to access effective mental health care and even addressing mental health stigma and discrimination as a topic among these communities. This way, it is evident that such challenges could be easily translated into solutions and ensure health among such communities.

References

Giacco, D., Matanov, A., & Priebe, S. (2014). Providing mental healthcare to immigrants: current challenges and new strategies. Current opinion in psychiatry, 27(4), 282-288.

Rodríguez, M., Valentine, J. M., Son, J. B., & Muhammad, M. (2009). Intimate partner violence and barriers to mental health care for ethnically diverse populations of women. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 10(4), 358-374.