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Purpose: Evidence from systematic reviews suggests that adult immigrants living in areas of higher immigrant density (areas with a higher proportion of foreign-born residents) tend to experience fewer mental health problems-likely through less discrimination, greater access to culturally/linguistically appropriate services, and greater social support. Less is known about how such contexts are associated with mental health during childhood-a key period in the onset and development of many mental health challenges. This study examined associations between neighbourhood immigrant density and youth mental health conditions in British Columbia (BC; Canada)., Methods: Census-derived neighbourhood characteristics were linked to medical records for youth present in ten of BC's largest school districts from age 5 through 19 over the study period (1995-2016; n = 138,090). Occurrence of physician assessed diagnoses of mood and/or anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorder was inferred through International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic codes in universal public health insurance records. Multi-level logistic regression was used to model associations between neighbourhood characteristics and odds of diagnoses for each condition; models were stratified by generation status (first-generation: foreign-born; second-generation: Canadian-born to a foreign-born parent; non-immigrant)., Results: Higher neighbourhood immigrant density was associated with lower odds of disorders among first-generation immigrant youth (e.g., adjusted odds of mood-anxiety disorders for those in neighbourhoods with the highest immigrant density were 0.67 times lower (95% CI: 0.49, 0.92) than those in neighbourhoods with the lowest immigrant density). Such protective associations generally extended to second-generation and non-immigrant youth, but were-for some disorders-stronger for first-generation than second-generation or non-immigrant youth., Conclusions: Findings suggest there may be protective mechanisms associated with higher neighbourhood immigrant density for mental health conditions in immigrant and non-immigrant youth. It is important that future work examines potential pathways by which contextual factors impact immigrant and non-immigrant youth mental health., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)

Introduction: Mental disorders affect about 13% of the world's population. While evidence-based mental health treatments are available, a significant number of persons with mental illnesses are untreated or do not receive adequate mental healthcare due to various reasons, including costs, stigma and the desire to self-manage symptoms. In the past few years, there has been an increase in the body of evidence regarding leisure activities and mental wellness. However, there is currently no published overview of the state of the evidence on these activities and their potential preventive and therapeutic effects on mental health., Methods and Analysis: Using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) review guidelines, an umbrella review will be undertaken to synthesise findings from systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the mental health benefits of home-based and community-based activities. MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Epistemonikos, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports will be searched for potentially relevant systematic reviews and meta-analyses published from January 1991 to present. Title/abstract screening, full-text review, data extraction and assessment of methodological quality will each be performed independently by two reviewers. A third review author will be available to resolve discrepancies in any of the review tasks. To assess the quality of potentially eligible reviews, the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses will be used. Findings will be presented in table form and will be summarised by study population, type of home-based or community-based activity or intervention, and type of mental health outcomes. Overall assessment of the strength of existing evidence from eligible systematic reviews will be provided following the grading of recommendation, assessment, development and evaluation approach., Ethics and Dissemination: No ethical approval is required. Results of this umbrella review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42021266989., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To examine the association between usual place of primary care and mental health consultation among those with self-reported mood or anxiety disorders. We also describe access to mental health services among people who are recent immigrants, longer-term immigrants, and nonimmigrants and determine whether the association with place of primary care differs by immigration group., Methods: We used data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2015 to 2016) to identify a representative sample of individuals with self-reported mood or anxiety disorders. We used logistic regression, with models stratified by immigration group (recent, longer-term, nonimmigrant), to examine the association between usual place of primary care and receiving a mental health consultation in the previous 12 months., Results: Higher percentages of recent and longer-term immigrants see a doctor in solo practice, and a higher percentage of recent immigrants use walk-in clinics as a usual place of care. Compared with people whose usual place of care was a community health center or interdisciplinary team, adjusted odds of a mental health consultation were significantly lower for people whose usual place of care was a solo practice doctor's office (AOR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.82), a walk-in clinic (AOR = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.85), outpatient clinic/other place (AOR = 0.72 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.88), and lowest among people reporting no usual place other than the emergency room (AOR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.67). Differences in access to mental health consultations by usual place of primary care were greatest among immigrants, especially recent immigrants., Conclusions: People with mood or anxiety disorders who have access to team-based primary care are more likely to report mental health consultations, and this is especially true for immigrants. Expanded access to team-based primary health care may help reduce barriers to mental health services, especially among immigrants.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health measures such as isolation, quarantine, and social distancing are needed. Some of these measures can adversely affect mental health. Activities that can be performed at home may mitigate these consequences and improve overall mental well-being. In this study, home-based activities that have potential beneficial effects on mental health were examined., Methods: A rapid review was conducted based on a search of the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PyscINFO, Global Health, epistemonikos.org, covid19reviews.org, and eppi.ioe.ac.uk/covid19_map_v13.html. Eligible studies include randomized controlled trials and non-randomized studies published between 1/1/2000 and 28/05/2020 and that examined the impact of various activities on mental health outcomes in low-resource settings and contexts that lead to social isolation. Studies of activities that require mental health professionals or that could not be done at home were excluded. Two review authors performed title/abstract screening. At the full-text review stage, 25% of the potentially eligible studies were reviewed in full by two review authors; the rest were reviewed by one review author. Risk of bias assessment and data extraction were performed by one review author and checked by a second review author. The main outcome assessed was change or differences in mental health as expressed in Cohen's d; analysis was conducted following the synthesis without meta-analysis guidelines (SWiM). PROSPERO registration: CRD42020186082., Results: Of 1,236 unique records identified, 160 were reviewed in full, resulting in 16 included studies. The included studies reported on the beneficial effects of exercise, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, and listening to relaxing music. One study reported on the association between solitary religious activities and post traumatic stress disorder symptoms. While most of the included studies examined activities in group settings, particularly among individuals in prisons, the activities were described as something that can be performed at home and alone. All included studies were assessed to be at risk of bias in one or more of the bias domains examined., Conclusions: There is some evidence that certain home-based activities can promote mental wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidelines are needed to help optimize benefits while minimizing potential risks when performing these activities., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The association between social support and mental health across immigrant groups were examined in this study. A population-based sample was extracted from a 2009/10 Canadian community health survey. Self-reported mood or anxiety disorders and a standardized social support scale were used as outcome and explanatory variables. The association between these variables was measured using logistic regression controlling for sex, age, marital status, education, self-rated health and perceived stress. Stratified analyses were performed to test if the strength of association differed by immigrant status. In comparison with individuals who had moderate levels of social support, individuals with low social support had higher odds of reporting mental disorders and this association appeared strongest among recent immigrants. Using the same comparison group, individuals with high social support had lower odds of reporting mental disorders and this association appeared stronger among long-term immigrants. Findings were discussed within the context of immigration stress and acculturation strategies.