Mental health interventions for immigrant-refugee children and youth living in Canada: a scoping review and way forward

Background Traumatic life events experienced by immigrant-refugee children and youth may deteriorate their mental health and well-being. It is a public health priority to develop appropriate mental health interventions for this population. Aims To understand the psychosocial needs of immigrant-refugee children and youth resettled in Canada in the context of their school and community and to identify the characteristics of school-/community-based mental health programs for this group. Method Arksey and O'Malley's methodology for scoping reviews was used to select the studies based on criteria, extract data in a table, and synthesize main findings. Results Fifteen peer-reviewed articles and five grey literature were identified. Key findings show that collaboration between schools, communities, and families play a crucial role in developing and implementing comprehensive mental health interventions for immigrant-refugee children/youth. Involving cultural brokers/interpreters and racially diverse school teachers/staff, is important to establish a trustful relationship between school authorities and marginalized population. Conclusions Further research is needed to examine the impact of collaborative mental healthcare among multiracial and newcomer families in Canada. Furthermore, there is a need to study the impact of adopting creative expression programs at schools/communities to improve emotional/behavioural problems and enhance school performance of these groups.