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This paper discusses progressive thinking and clinical views on improving mental health practice for immigrants and refugees. It addresses policy, care delivery, professionals’ attitudes, and immigrants’ access to mental health care — all factors especially pertinent for practice in major immigration hubs. The data was gathered from invited presentations and discussions among participants at an international multidisciplinary symposium, including health and social scientists from Toronto (Canada) and Paris (France), major urban centres attracting large numbers of immigrant and refugees who constantly encounter challenges for their successful settlement. The focus is on alternative care thinking and innovative approaches for better care and understanding of these populations’ health behavior. Recommendations on how to advance knowledge relevant for these two urban hubs of immigration were documented, underpinned by the consensus that economic disparities, societal and political forces, as well as cultural and linguistic factors, influence immigrants’ and refugees’ vulnerability regarding mental health stability.

This paper aims to advance understanding of the role ethnic and multicultural media can play in connecting municipal governments and Ethnocultural and Immigrant Communities (EICs). Using an innovative mixed-methods approach and methodological triangulation, we compare the access to and use of multicultural media among four EICs—the Chinese, Latin American, Somali and South Asian—in Ottawa, Canada. Our cross-comparative study yields three main findings: 1) members of participating communities proactively and strategically use a variety of sources to access information about local services; 2) noteworthy differences exist in the access to and use of different types of media both across and within the four EICs, due to demographic and cultural differences; and 3) participants shared challenges and opportunities that multicultural media afford to better connect municipal government and EICs. The paper’s findings make important empirical contributions to the literature on the integrative potential of ethnic and multicultural media by strengthening the reliability of data, validity of findings, and broadening and deepening understanding the role multicultural media play in promoting collaboration between city governments and diverse EICs.

This paper aims to advance understanding of the role ethnic and multicultural media can play in connecting municipal governments and Ethnocultural and Immigrant Communities (EICs). Using an innovative mixed-methods approach and methodological triangulation, we compare the access to and use of multicultural media among four EICs—the Chinese, Latin American, Somali, and South Asian—in Ottawa, Canada. Our cross-comparative study yields three main findings: 1) members of participating communities proactively and strategically use a variety of sources to access information about local services; 2) noteworthy differences exist in the access to and use of different types of media both across and within the four EICs, due to demographic and cultural differences; and 3) participants shared challenges and opportunities that multicultural media afford to better connect municipal government and EICs. The paper’s findings make important empirical contributions to the literature on the integrative potential of ethnic and multicultural media by strengthening the reliability of data, validity of findings, and broadening and deepening understanding the role multicultural media play in promoting collaboration between city governments and diverse EICs.