The role of Race/Racism on Black Canadians Mental Health Term Paper

The Role of Race/Racism on Black Canadians Mental Health
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The Role of Race/Racism on Black Canadians Mental Health
Introduction
Political, economic, and social factors shape the conditions where people grow, work, and live. These factors are essential for the health and well-being of all individuals. There are numerous inequalities based on race that translate to different outcome among certain demographic groups that are systemic, unavoidable, and unfair (Public Health Agency of Canada). Racism is the major causes of health inequalities, which exacerbates the issue of mental health. Therefore, race is an important determinant and crucial driver of health inequities, especially for the racialized Canadians. Black Canadian communities face numerous inequalities in the healthcare system. In several instances, Black Canadians have advocated for more recognition and interventions to address healthcare issues, particularly related to mental wellbeing (Westoll, 2020).
Many Black Canadians have no access to structural and financial resources to access mental health services. Recently, there have been calls to address Black Canadians' mental health needs because they face unique challenges based on racial prejudices. Some of the challenges leading to mental health problems include increased poverty levels and social exclusion. The black people with no access to mental health treatment face challenges in schools, family conflicts, and high rates of crimes. The purpose of the discourse is mapping evidence on the role of race and racism on black Canadians mental health.
Background
Racial prejudice against black people is a historic problem that remains prevalent in Canada. It is a phenomenon affecting millions of black people residing within Canada. It is evident that these systemic prejudice, discrimination, and aggressions are known social stressors that heighten the risk of negative mental health. Some of the prevalent mental health challenges among black Canadian residents include suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression. There are numerous studies showing evidence that black Canadians have no access to appropriate mental health services and support. These barriers occur based on racial and systematic inequalities that have prevailed for a long period.
Approach to Literature Search
While researching for the sources, the study selection entailed an iterative process. The topics identified included the role of scoping review, population context, the outcome, keywords, and databases searched. The objective of this study was to locate and map the existing condition of mental health and addiction care for the Blacks in Canada. Included in the findings were children and youth who were under the age of 30. Again, the context was a setting in which mental healthcare and addiction services are provided to the Back population, and the results pegged on obstacles and enablers to care. The keywords embraced were mental health, Black, Canada, youth, family, community organizations, addiction, substance abuse, and best practices. Initially, the focus was on mental health and well-being. Again, the research integrated addiction into the picture because of its role in facilitating mental health challenges.
The Paradigms
Race and racism are barriers to access of mental health among Black Canadians. Having access to quality care require elaborate pathways and culturally appropriate care incentives. Black people find it difficult to get early medical interventions whenever they experienced or sought mental health services (Ferrari et al., 2015). The finding emerged following a scientific experiment that targeted 171 patients from both hospital and community-based early intervention services in Hamilton and Toronto. The groups were compared on untreated psychosis (DUP) alongside key indicators of the avenues to mental health service. The findings from research this identified considerable differences in the respective pathways to early intervention services for psychosis for the individuals of African and Caribbean origin. It was found that individuals of Black-Africa, Black-European, and Black-Caribbean in Ontario, Canada face multiple hurdles in accessing mental health challenges (Ferrari et al., 2015). These pathway barriers are a testament that indeed Blacks are deeply disadvantaged with the whole racism concept. While handling mental health concerns, getting early medical intervention is a critical step in treating it. Unfortunately, Blacks in Canada find it exceedingly hard to overcome these barriers.
Similarly, both psychosocial and racial factors linked to migration will likely contribute to the risk of psychotic disorder. Canada is a nation that is known to embrace immigrants from diverse cultural backgrounds. Despite its friendly immigration policies, immigrants of African origin find it hard to access better mental health services. In one study that attempted to find out the incidence of schizoaffective and schizophrenic disorders among immigrants of the first generation, instances of psychotic disorders among the Caribbean and Bermuda immigrants (IRR 1.60, 95% CI 1.29-1.98) were found to be more prevalent (Anderson et al., 2015). However, there were lower incidences found in immigrants from both northern and southern Europe and East Asia. With the increased global humanitarian crisis, Canada is opening its door to immigrants, however, there is disparity among individuals who can access mental health services. From this study, it is evident that Black immigrants in Canada face hurdles in accessing mental healthcare compared to immigrants from other races. This could largely be due to financial or material incapacity. However, the element of race cannot disappear from this study. Nevertheless, Black immigrants will face challenges in accessing mental healthcare.
At the same time, the complicated interaction of ethnicity, immigration status, and other socio-economic factors compel Black immigrants in Canada to face multiple hurdles in accessing mental healthcare. According to Anderson (2017), members of Black ethnic groups increased instances of bad contacts with health services at the episode of psychosis and schizophrenia (Anderson et al., 2017). All these can be attributed to the issue of face. Blacks in Canada face these hurdles in accessing mental health services. This study especially handled the critical area of the first diagnosis whereby the issue of race is critical in addressing who gets the first services.
Additionally, there is a lack of acknowledgment of mental health problem among the Black community. In one study that involved 1500 community members, participants shared anonymized data captured at the community engagement sessions coupled with written submissions (Anucha et al., 2018). While processing the data, the study identified the top ten issues that affect the Black community, among them mental health concerns, that ranked 9th. Members of the community noted a lack of positive support to help the youth adjust to mental health by highlighting lack of acknowledgement of mental illnesses by the Black community. Often, many youths are compelled to handle their mental health issues alone since they fear judgments and stigmatization by the local community (Anucha et al., 2018). Criminalization of mental health by other organizations discourages the youth to seek the appropriate care. The compounding impact of lack of acknowledgement of mental challenges by the community and the existence of systemic oppression make the youth turn to substance abuse as a coping mechanism. Sometimes, lack of acknowledgement results in increased incidences of mental health problems among the Black community in Canada. Unlike other races, the Black community should integrate measures that enable individuals identify and actively participate in mental health awareness. Coupled with adequate interventions and mechanisms, the Black community must create programs that will enable people identify instances of mental health to rescue themselves, especially the youth.
In another study, the plight of ethnic-minority students’ attempts to seek mental healthcare in the university was highlighted. This study was done at one University in the United Kingdom, and it established that there is increased risk of inequality among Black and Minority Ethnic communities in the UK, especially within the mental health system, in spite of significant government policy initiatives (Arday, 2018). Notably, access to higher education for numerous ethnic minorities is a challenge. In the universities, BME students encounter lots of challenges in matters of accepting culturally relevant services (Arday, 2018). Again, this phenomenon encompasses inadequate cultural understanding, including communication challenges and how to access the much needed help. Findings from this study suggest that ethnic minority face increased discrimination and inadequate access to culturally relevant mental health services. These findings can be transposed in the Canadian setting where students, especially those from ethnic minority groups, including Blacks face inadequate mental health care (Arday, 2018). However, there are solutions that can be provided to solve this challenge. For instance, mental health people need to work hand in hand with individuals from minority groups to help them tackle their mental health problems.
The Black community in Canada also face the challenge of delays in seeking mental healthcare .The African, Caribbean, and European (ACE) Pathways to Care Study: a qualitative exploration of similarities and differences between African-origin, Caribbean-origin, and European-origin groups in pathways to care for psychosis is another interpretive research article that attempts to examine why there exist differences in pathways to care as well as time of untreated psychosis among the African, Caribbean, and European pathways to care study. The study engage 34 participants, 24 of them who faced the first instance of psychosis alongside nine family members (Ferrari et al...