Mental health status, health care utilisation, and service satisfaction among immigrants in Montreal: An epidemiological comparison
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OBJECTIVE: To examine variations between immigrants and nonimmigrants in 1) prevalence of common mental disorders and other mental health variables; 2) health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions, and 3) health service satisfaction. METHODS: This article is based on a longitudinal cohort study conducted from May 2007 to the present: the Epidemiological Catchment Area Study of Montreal South-West (ZEPSOM). Participants were followed up at 4 time points (T1, n = 2433; T4, n = 1095). Core exposure variables include immigrant status (immigrant vs. nonimmigrant), duration of residence, and region of origin. Key outcome variables included mental health status, health service utilisation, and health service satisfaction. Data were analysed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. RESULTS: Immigrants had been in Canada for 20 years on average. Immigrants had significantly lower rates of high psychological distress (32.6% vs. 39.1%, P = 0.016), alcohol dependence (1.4% vs. 3.9%, P =0.010), depression (5.2% vs. 9.2%, P = 0.008), and various other mental disorders. They had significantly higher scores of mental well-being (48.9 vs. 47.1 score, P = 0.014) and satisfaction with social (34.0 vs. 33.4 score, P = 0.021) and personal relationships (16.7 vs. 15.6 score, P < 0.001). Immigrants had significantly lower rates of health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions and significantly higher rates of health service satisfaction at all time points. Asian and African immigrants had particularly low rates of utilisation and high rates of satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Immigrants had better overall mental health than nonimmigrants.
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The lower EOHCS-Episodic scores among people who have English as their first language may be explained in part by research showing that newcomers whose first language is not English tend to rate their satisfaction with care highly, reflecting appreciation for access to care that may be less accessible in their countries of origin.
“The lower scores among people who have English as their first language may be explained, in part, by research showing that newcomers whose first language is not English tend to rate their satisfaction with care quite highly, reflecting some peoples’ appreciation for access to care that may be less accessible in their countries of origin [81–84].”
From Using a health equity lens to measure patient experiences of care in diverse health care settings (2024) · cites this paper as [84]
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Using a health equity lens to measure patient experiences of care in diverse health care settings
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- Authors
- Whitley, R., Wang, J., Fleury, M.-J., Liu, A., & Caron, J.
- Affiliations
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
- Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
- Corresponding author
- Whitley, Rob
- Venue
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-11-12
- Volume
- 62
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 570-579
- ISSN
- 0706-7437 (ISSN-L)
- 1497-0015
- PMC
- PMC5546664
- OpenAlex
- W2551517919
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 5.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (79839_1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration, Identity, and Health
- Keywords
- immigrants, mental health, health care utilization, health service satisfaction, psychological distress, depression, alcoholism, mental illness, psychological well-being, duration of residence, region of origin, Asian immigrants, African immigrants, Montreal
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Mental Disorders, Delivery of Health Care, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Quebec, Prevalence, Patient Satisfaction, Emigrants and Immigrants, Young Adult
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