Community-Driven Mental Health Priorities for Immigrant Youth in Alberta

Farwa Naqvi¹Mungunzul Amarbayan²Gina Dimitropoulos³Jennifer Zwicker⁴Maria Jose Santana^1*

• ¹University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, Canada
• ²Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
• ³University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work, Calgary, Canada
• ⁴University of Calgary, School of Public Policy, Calgary, Canada

Background Immigrant youth population is more susceptible to poor mental and overall health due to environmental factors such as higher risks of poverty, trauma, displacement and settlement period, learning a new language, adapting to a new culture, and a lack or loss of social supports. The overall goal of this project was to identify the research priorities of immigrant youth with lived experience of mental health concerns to guide research in mental health and inform health policy in a partnership with community organizations across Alberta, Canada. Methods This patient-oriented research followed the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership five steps: 1) Creating a steering committee; 2) Gathering uncertainties (questions which cannot be answered by existing research); 3) Refining uncertainties through steering committee; 4) Prioritization with immigrant youth via focus groups and with stakeholder involved in the care of immigrant youth through a Nominal Group Technique (NTG); 5) Finalizing priority setting, report and dissemination. A steering committee was created with immigrant youth self-identified with lived experience of mental health issues, leaders from immigrant communities (aged 18-25), researchers, non-profit organization leaders and healthcare or community service providers. The electronic survey was distributed in rural, remote, suburban and urban settings to recruit self-identified immigrant ('someone who has permanently located in a country other than their place of home origin') youth between the ages of 15-25 residing in Alberta, Canada. Results Based on 148 responses from immigrant youth with a mental health concern, 25 uncertainties were refined. Top 5 priorities were chosen at the focus groups and NTG. Youth prioritized uncertainties related to them and their communities, while key informants emphasized higher-level uncertainties (resources, institutional barriers). Both prioritized community roles in reducing stigma, schools' role in addressing mental health and the impact of COVID-related isolation. Conclusions This study underscores the need for policies that support the tailoring of mental health services to the individual needs of immigrant youth. Findings from this study affirm that immigrant youth recognize mental health as not linear or universal; they seek to support each other, advocate for systemic changes that increase literacy and access to care.