Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 20, Issue 6, 2018, Pages 1309-1316

Access to and Use of Psychiatric Services by Migrants Resettled in Northern Italy (Article)

Cristofalo D. , Bonetto C. , Ballarin M. , Amaddeo F. , Ruggeri M. , Nosè M. , Barbui C.*
  • a WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • b WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • c WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • d WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • e WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • f WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • g WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona, 37134, Italy

Abstract

The present study was conducted to describe access to and use of psychiatric services by migrants resettled in a large and well-defined catchment area. The study was conducted in a catchment area of 459,536 inhabitants in Verona, a city located in the Northeast of Italy. Using a psychiatric case register, all native and migrant individuals with a first ever psychiatric contact from 2000 to 2015 were identified. Service use data during the 12 months following first contact were collected. During the study period a total of 2610 migrants and 28,860 natives had at least one psychiatric contact. A progressive rise in the proportion of migrants seeking psychiatric care was observed, from 2.5% in 2000 to more than 14% in 2015. During the 12 months following first contact, the proportion of patients with a single consultation did not differ between resettled migrants and natives. However, migrants were more often marked users or heavy users of psychiatric services. Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that younger male individuals with psychotic disorders experienced higher psychiatric services use regardless their native or migrant condition. In a large catchment area with a well-developed community-based system of mental health care a progressive rise in the number of migrants seeking psychiatric care was observed. The pattern of service use during the 12 months after first contact was not related to nationality, suggesting the capacity of community psychiatric services to retain people in care. These findings call for the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate community psychiatric services. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Author Keywords

Psychiatric care Migrants Epidemiology Health services research

Index Keywords

hospital admission mental health service human epidemiology middle aged statistics and numerical data Aged Mental Health Services Humans psychology male female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics adult migration age sex factor Sex Factors Age Factors Catchment Area (Health) Patient Admission patient attitude hospital emergency service Emergency Service, Hospital Linear Models Italy Patient Acceptance of Health Care statistical model residential care Transients and Migrants
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85040733196&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-018-0703-z&partnerID=40&md5=17e567732f71bc44e37d3b25052f77d8
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0703-z
ISSN: 15571912
Original Language: English