Cultural brokering with Syrian refugee families with young children: an exploration of challenges and best practices in psychosocial adaptation

This study examined the challenges and critical psychosocial needs of Syrian refugee families with young children in Western Canada, and the role of cultural brokering in facilitating their psychosocial adaptation. Using a community-based participatory research approach and critical incident method, the study involved nine Arabic-speaking cultural brokers who were working with Syrian refugee families using holistic supports during early resettlement. Data collected through focus groups and semi-structured interviews are presented in five illustrative case studies, and reveal that Syrian families struggled with feeling safe and secure in Canada, adjusting to the changing roles in the family, and trying to find meaning in their lives. These struggles were attributed to families’ overall challenges navigating various domains of integration (i.e., health, social services, and education), resulting in a heavy reliance on cultural brokers for social linking and bonding activities (Ager & Strang, 2008), including connecting families to needed supports and helping family members build relationships with one another. Challenges faced by families mapped onto the five psychosocial needs of Silove’s (2013) Adaptation after Persecution and Trauma (ADAPT) conceptual framework as well as most of the core domains of Ager and Strang’s (2008) Social Integration framework. This study provides evidence for the use of both of these frameworks in further studies involving Syrian refugee populations; they proved useful for understanding how families can develop necessary skills to engage on their own in linking activities with various Canadian institutions and bridging activities with communities at large

An ethnographic investigation of maternity healthcare experience of immigrants in rural and urban Alberta, Canada

Background: Canada is among the top immigrant-receiving nations in the world. Immigrant populations may face structural and individual barriers in the access to and navigation of healthcare services in a new country. The aims of the study were to (1) generate new understanding of the processes that perpetuate immigrant disadvantages in maternity healthcare, and (2) devise potential interventions that might improve maternity experiences and outcomes for immigrant women in Canada. Methods: The study utilized a qualitative research approach that focused on ethnographic research design and data analysis contextualized within theories of organizational behaviour and critical realism. Data were collected over 2.5 years using focus groups and in-depth semistructured interviews with immigrant women (n = 34), healthcare providers (n = 29), and social service providers (n = 23) in a Canadian province. Purposive samples of each subgroup were generated, and recruitment and data collection – including interpretation and verification of translations – were facilitated through the hiring of community researchers and collaborations with key informants. Results: The findings indicate that (a) communication difficulties, (b) lack of information, (c) lack of social support (isolation), (d) cultural beliefs, e) inadequate healthcare services, and (f) cost of medicine/services represent potential barriers to the access to and navigation of maternity services by immigrant women in Canada. Having successfully accessed and navigated services, immigrant women often face additional challenges that influence their level of satisfaction and quality of care, such as lack of understanding of the informed consent process, lack of regard by professionals for confidential patient information, short consultation times, short hospital stays, perceived discrimination/stereotyping, and culture shock. Conclusions: Although health service organizations and policies strive for universality and equality in service provision, personal and organizational barriers can limit care access, adequacy, and acceptability for immigrant women. A holistic healthcare approach must include health informational packages available in different languages/media. Health care professionals who care for diverse populations must be provided with training in cultural competence, and monitoring and evaluation programs to ameliorate personal and systemic discrimination

Compassionate witnessing of post-conflict trauma in Canada: engaging African diaspora communities in healing & reconciliation

Paper presented at the 1st African Water Symposium, and the 5th International Conference on Conflict Management Peace Economics and Peace Science, University of the Free State, 21 Jun

Moving towards adulthood: (re)defining the concept of an "emerging adult" among African refugee youth in Canada

Paper presented at the 30th International Congress of Psychology, Cape Town, 20-23 Jul

African migrant children's mental health: a scoping review

This scoping review examines and reports the literature on African migrant children's mental health. Children living outside their birth countries were included to capture the range of migration experiences of African children. Our search focused on studies published between 2000 and 2021, reporting on the mental health of children up to 18 years of age, migrating from and within Africa, and included first-generation immigrants, refugees and displaced children. Guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework, the initial article search resulted in 7862 records. The inclusion criteria were applied by reading the titles and abstracts, and 1741 records remained. Following a review of all articles, 26 met the inclusion criteria and were included in data charting and data extraction. A thematic analysis of the data generated five broad themes, including (1) mental health experiences and sources of distress; (2) characteristics of specific mental health disorders; (3) accessibility and utilization of health services; (4) solutions to address mental health challenges and promote wellbeing; and (5) internal resilience and coping. A key observation is that most studies focus on refugee child populations with limited research on other African child migrant groups, including children of economic migrants, international students, temporary workers and other migration categories. Recommendations for future studies and practice are provided