Determinants of Mental Health Care Utilization and Access among Immigrants in Canada: A Population-Based Study

Ukeme Eka , Memorial University
Somina Eka, Memorial University
Eric Tenkorang, Memorial University

Immigrants’ mental health continues to attract substantial interest worldwide. We aimed to explain mental health service utilization (MHSU) between immigrants and Canadian-born citizens. We analyzed data from 109,659 participants (12 years and older) in a nationally representative sample from the 2016 Canadian Community Health Survey using logit models. Gender-specific models were estimated. Both immigrant males and females were more likely to use mental health care services, compared to the Canadian-born after controlling for their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. However, the odds of accessing mental health care services reduced significantly for immigrants once their mental health needs were controlled (depression, mood disorder, anxiety disorder). The findings suggest that government pays attention to the mental health needs of immigrants especially as access is partially driven by their mental health burden.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 64. Immigrants' Health