Mental Health Service Utilization by Ethiopian Immigrants and Refugees in Toronto

Ilene Hyman · Samuel Noh

164 citations0/0 files storedThe Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

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Migration, Health and Trauma Mental Health Treatment and Access Migration, Identity, and Health

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the mental health service utilization patterns of Ethiopians in Toronto. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey of 342 randomly selected adults was conducted, based on a conceptual model of healthcare utilization suggested by Anderson and Newman. The results suggested that 5% of the respondents sought mental health services from healthcare professionals and 8% consulted nonhealthcare professionals. Although Ethiopians' utilization rate of mental health services did not greatly differ from the rates of the general population of Ontario (6%), only a small proportion (12.5%) of Ethiopians with mental disorders used services from healthcare professionals, mostly family physicians. The data also suggested that Ethiopians were more likely to consult traditional healers than healthcare professionals for mental health problems (18.8% vs. 12.5%). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, while the number of somatic symptoms experienced was positively associated with increased mental healthcare utilization (OR = 1.515, p < 0.05), having a mental disorder was associated with decreased mental healthcare utilization (OR = 0.784, p < 0.01). Our findings have important implications for mental health services. On the one hand, the findings suggest that somatic symptoms could lead to increased use of mental health services, particularly family physicians' services. On the other hand, the data suggested that although the mental healthcare needs of Ethiopians are high, they use fewer mental health services from healthcare professionals. It would seem that family physicians could play important role in identifying and treating Ethiopian clients with somatic symptoms, as these symptoms may reflect mental disorder.

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References

1995Revisiting the Behavioral Model and Access to Medical Care: Does it Matter?2004The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI)2005Societal and Individual Determinants of Medical Care Utilization in the United States 1973Societal and Individual Determinants of Medical Care Utilization in the United States 1969Life Events and Depression 2003Perceived Discrimination and Depression: Moderating Effects of Coping, Acculturation, and Ethnic Support 2002Mental Health Care for Latinos: Inequalities in Use of Specialty Mental Health Services Among Latinos, African Americans, and Non-Latino Whites 1971Scaling of Life Events

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