Search

The health and wellbeing of African children and families, as an emerging demographic, is of interest and concern to various stakeholders in Canada. Yet, few studies have examined how parents and other members of the African community perceive the concept of mental health. This paper examines the perceptions of mental health of African community members concerning parenting children of African heritage. We used critical ethnography and transnational feminist theory to examine mental health perceptions and parenting practices among African immigrants living in Alberta, Canada. Data were drawn from a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 58 participants made up of parents, community leaders, service providers and policymakers. Findings show that linguistic differences, cultural beliefs, and life experiences play a role in how African immigrants living within the Canadian context view mental health and mental health difficulties. African immigrant parents struggle with the tension of holding traditional cultural views of wellness in an environment where structures and services are centred around Western notions of mental health and illness and the potential impact this can have on their parenting practices and children's mental health. Recommendations for resolving conflicts relating to mental health perceptions are discussed to enhance service access and provision among African immigrant families in Canada and other Western countries. Keywords: Mental health perceptions, children, parenting, culture, African immigrants, Canada. La santé et le bien-être des enfants et des familles africains, en tant que groupe démographique émergent, intéresse et préoccupe divers organismes au Canada. Pourtant, peu d'études ont examiné la façon dont les parents et les autres membres de la communauté africaine perçoivent le concept de santé mentale. Cet article examine les perceptions de la santé mentale des membres de la communauté africaine concernant la parentalité d'enfants d'origine africaine. Nous avons utilisé une ethnographie critique et une théorie féministe transnationale pour examiner les perceptions de la santé mentale et les pratiques parentales chez les immigrants africains vivant en Alberta, au Canada. Les données ont été tirées d'une analyse thématique d'entretiens semi-structurés avec 58 participants composés de parents, de dirigeants communautaires, de prestataires de services et de décideurs. Les résultats montrent que les différences linguistiques, les croyances culturelles et les expériences de vie jouent un rôle dans la façon dont les immigrants africains vivant dans le contexte canadien perçoivent la santé mentale et les problèmes de santé mentale. Les parents d'immigrants africains luttent contre la difficulté liée à la perception de la culture traditionnelle du bien-être dans un environnement où les structures et les services sont centrés sur les notions occidentals de santé mentale et de maladie et l'impact potentiel que cela peut avoir sur leurs pratiques parentales et la santé mentale de leurs enfants. Des recommandations pour résoudre les conflits liés aux perceptions de la santé mentale sont discutées afin d'améliorer l'accès et la prestation des services parmi les familles d'immigrants africains au Canada et dans d'autres pays occidentaux. Mots-clés: Perceptions de la santé mentale, enfants, parentalité, culture, immigrants africains, Canada., INTRODUCTION 'Mtoto umleavyo, ndivyo akuavyo' is an East African Swahili proverb that roughly translates into 'the manner in which you raise your child is the way your child will grow,' [...]

Objective: To examine the factors that influence parent–child relationships in African immigrant families in Alberta, Canada. Background: African immigrants are increasingly migrating to high‐income countries, including Canada, in search of a better life. These immigrants often face several challenges, including parenting their children in new sociocultural contexts. We present findings from a critical ethnographic study of parent–child relationships among African immigrants in Alberta, Canada. Method: Informed by transnational feminist theory, we conducted interviews with 14 African immigrant community leaders, 31 African immigrant parents, and 12 service providers and policymakers. Results: We found that conflicting cultural practices and value systems, shifting power relations, low socioeconomic status, and gender relations exert both beneficial and strenuous influences on parent–child relations. Conclusion: The determinants of parenting practices and parent–child relationships include the intersecting influences of gender, social class, culture, and changing power relations across transnational spaces. Implications: Our findings suggest several policy and practice implications. In particular, we suggest a need to attend to diverse determinants of child well‐being, including income, gender relations, culturally sensitive service delivery, and changing power relations across transnational spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African immigrant children and youth have some of the poorest social and mental health outcomes in Canada. Although parenting challenges have been widely documented as a key driver of these outcomes, limited systematic research has investigated this phenomenon. In this paper, we report the results of a study examining parenting challenges among a sample of African immigrant parents in Alberta, Canada. We relied on the theoretical lens of transnationalism to collect and analyse data from a purposive sample of African community leaders (n = 14), African immigrant parents (n = 32), and a range of stakeholders (n = 30). Our thematic data analysis revealed several intricately intertwined parenting challenges, organized around six overarching themes, namely, cultural incompatibility, family tension, state interference, limited social supports, poor access to services, and low socioeconomic status. We present these themes and the policy and service implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines stakeholders’ perspectives on the health and well-being of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and their families in Alberta, Canada. We used a critically informed qualitative methodology. We interviewed 13 stakeholders, including service providers and policy makers. Stakeholders involved in providing services to TFWs perceived that the workers experience (1) barriers in accessing mental health services, (2) mental health challenges, (3) family health challenges, (4) occupational health challenges, and (5) income and social status as a social determinant of health. Immigration and class status intersect to influence the health of this vulnerable population in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study sought to examine the challenges encountered by immigrant-serving agencies in meeting the health needs of temporary foreign workers and their families in one Canadian province. The authors interviewed 11 representatives of immigrant-serving agencies and two policy makers. Some of the challenges that agencies face in delivering programs and services for temporary foreign workers and their families include the time required to build trust with this population, temporary foreign workers' reluctance to use services due to fear that it will affect their immigration status, and the emotional labor associated with working with temporary foreign workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]