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The Peel Region of Toronto, Canada is home to over a third of the province's South Asian population. Youth are at a vulnerable time period in terms of their mental health. South Asian youth populations may face additional challenges to their mental health such as acculturative stress, intergenerational conflict, and racism and discrimination. This qualitative study set out to understand the mental health concerns and service access barriers experienced by South Asian youth populations in the Peel Region of Toronto, Canada from the perspective of mental health service providers. In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with mental health service providers (n = 22) who work with South Asian youth living in Peel Region. Thematic analysis was used to elucidate themes related to mental health stressors and service access barriers experienced by youth. According to mental health service providers, South Asian youth navigate a number of unique stressors related to the domains of culture, religion, and family dynamics, experiences of discrimination, the impact of migration, beliefs around mental illness and help-seeking, help-seeking trajectories and therapy recommendations, and lastly, sex differences. Mental health service providers outlined steps needed to effectively address the unique mental health challenges, best practice guidelines, and recommendations for working with South Asian youth, families, and communities to provide a practical and nuanced overview on how a multi-level strategy for mental health care can effectively meet the needs of South Asian youth populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of ‘South Asian’ ethnic categorization was investigated to determine if there is consistency in its use in health research in Canada. Quantitative content analysis and a secondary qualitative content analysis were carried out on articles retrieved from a systematic review of Canadian health research conducted on ‘South Asians’ from 2005 to 2012. About 22% of articles (n = 31) examining South Asian health in Canada failed to include an explicit definition of ‘South Asian’. The failure to use a consistent operationalized definition throughout the study and the inappropriate application of findings to the relevant South Asian subpopulations were the major problems noted in the literature. Given the contextuality and fluidity of ethnic identity, the authors recommend the consistent use of explicit definitions of the specific subgroup of interest and that findings based on specific subgroups not be applied to the ‘South Asian community’ at large. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]