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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, youth had rising mental health needs and changes in service accessibility. Our study investigated changes in use of mental health care services for Canadian youth in Alberta before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also investigated how youth utilization patterns differed for subgroups based on social factors (i.e., age, gender, socioeconomic status, and geography) previously associated with health care access. Methods: We used cross-sectional population-based data from Alberta, Canada to understand youth (15–24 year) mental health care use from 2018/19 to 2021/22. We performed interrupted time series design, segmented regression modeling on type of mental health care use (i.e., general physician, psychiatrist, emergency room, and hospitalization) and diagnosis-related use. We also investigated the characteristics of youth who utilized mental health care services and stratified diagnosis-related use patterns by youth subgroups. Results: The proportion of youth using mental health care significantly increased from 15.6% in 2018/19 to 18.8% in 2021/22. Mental health care use showed an immediate drop in April 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and public health protections were instituted, followed by a steady rise during the next 2 years. An increase was significant for general physician and psychiatrist visits. Most individual diagnoses included in this study showed significant increasing trends during the pandemic (i.e., anxiety, adjustment, ADHD, schizophrenia, and self-harm), with substance use showing an overall decrease. Mortality rates greatly increased for youth being seen for mental health reasons from 71 per 100,000 youth in 2018/19 to 163 per 100,000 in 2021/22. In addition, there were clear shifts over time in the characteristics of youth using mental health care services. Specifically, there was increased utilization for women/girls compared to men/boys and for youth from wealthier neighborhoods. Increases over time in the utilization of services for self-harm were limited to younger youth (15–16 year). Conclusions: The study provides evidence of shifts in mental health care use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings can be used to plan for ongoing mental health needs of youth, future pandemic responses, and other public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African immigrant children experience some of the poorest mental health outcomes in Canada, yet limited research has systematically mental health determinants among this growing demographic. Our participatory action research project (PAR) explored, from the perspectives of parents, the factors influencing the mental health of African immigrant children in Alberta, Canada. The project utilized an intersectionality theoretical lens to collect and analyze data from a sample of 81 African immigrant parents who participated in nine conversation cafés and five focus groups. This PAR approach provided an ideal structure to engage parents and generate knowledge on the factors influencing their children's mental health. Parents identified racial discrimination, limited mental health awareness, limited access to mental health supports, changing family dynamics, parental absenteeism, and unresolved pre-migration trauma as factors influencing their children's mental health. These factors were perceived as contributing to children's experiences of material deprivation, social problems, and emotional difficulties. Our findings suggest that interventions to overcome these factors and enhance the mental health of African immigrant children must target transformation of the family, community, and cultural systems within which their lives are embedded, as well as the policies and institutions that produce and reproduce child mental health vulnerabilities. Highlights: Racism was perceived as causing employment difficulties, material deprivation, low educational attainment, and emotional difficulties in children. Changing family dynamics (e.g., marital divorce) resulting from resettlement pressures were perceived as a source of mental stress. Unresolved pre-migration traumas were reported as a risk factor for mood swings, interpersonal difficulties, and illicit drug use. Utilization of mental health supports was curtailed by stigma and limited mental health awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]