Mental Health of African, Black and Caribbean Youths

Salami, B., Okeke-Ihejirika, P., Salma, J., Ayalew, T., Samuel, B., Jackson M., Harvey-Blankenship, M. (Feb 2018 to Jan 2019). A participatory action research project to promote the mental health of African, Black and Caribbean youths in Alberta. PolicyWise for Children and Families. $40,000

Research on African, Black, and Caribbean immigrant youths reveals an increased risk of mental health problems among this population. Despite the high prevalence of mental illness, little research across Canada explores the mental health of these immigrant youths. Data and consultations by the research team point to the need for participatory approaches to improve the mental health of this population. The purpose of this study is to examine the mental health needs of African, Black, and Caribbean immigrant youths and to identify culturally relevant strategies to increase access to and uptake of mental health services. The proposed one year study will take a participatory action research approach to foster maximum inclusion of youths in the research process. We will collect data in two phases: (1) individual interviews with 20-30 youths; (2) monthly conversation cafés over a four month period with approximately 20 youth participants per session. We will recruit youth participants through the African Center Youth Empowerment Group in Alberta and through affiliated social networks, and establish a youth advisory group, which will meet quarterly and assist with data collection, data analysis and dissemination. We will share our findings at a community engagement session for stakeholders, such as immigrant service providers, as well as health and government sectors. To share our results with the academic community, we will produce two publications and two conference presentations. The proposed study provides space for immigrant youths to share their experiences and to imagine solutions to their mental health difficulties; it also allows us to develop policy-relevant research that carefully integrates the perspectives of those most affected by the study's policy and practice recommendations. In short, our research aims to improve the mental health of African, Black, and Caribbean immigrant youths in Alberta.