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In this study, we applied an intersectional framework to explore service providers' perspectives on the mental health needs of newcomer young men. We conducted focus groups and interviews with 26 service providers in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, Canada. Findings show that service providers made sense of young men's mental health needs and service access in the context of systems. We identified three interconnected themes: newcomer young men's senses of self in relation to macro-systems, including racism and economic marginalization; settling well as a determinant of mental health; and systems capacities and interdependent resilience. While service providers are engaged in cross-sectoral work in support of newcomer young men's mental health, this work is not being sufficiently supported. Further work is needed around cross-sector capacity bridging and advocacy, as well as the tailoring of services to young men without the assumption and reinforcement of gender stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence shows that there is a high prevalence of mental health challenges including depression and anxiety, among Chinese university students. Providing mental health care providers with professional training is crucial to implementing effective mental health promotion initiatives in university settings. Globally, the focus of the mental health system is shifting to recovery and the importance of empowerment is increasingly being emphasized. There is a call to integrate empowerment education into professional training programs for health service providers with the goal of mobilizing them to become mental health champions capable of advancing mental health care. Method: The ACE-LYNX (Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment-Linking Youth and Xin i.e., "heart(s)" in Chinese) intervention took place at six universities in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. It aimed to promote mental health literacy and build capacity among mental health service providers (MHSPs) to enable them to become mental health champions at their universities and beyond. A total of 139 university MHSPs participated. We collected pre-, immediate post- and three-month-post-surveys. In addition, we recruited forty-five participants to take part in three-month-post-intervention focus group interviews to explore their experiences taking part in ACE-LYNX and applying the knowledge, skills, and insights they gained from the intervention. Result: This paper reports on the effects of empowerment education, which is a key component of ACE-LYNX, on the MHSPs. Four themes were identified: 1) conscious awareness and behavioral change through psychological empowerment users; 2) professional insights and motivation for organizational empowerment; 3) non-self in the continuum of collective empowerment; and 4) interdisciplinary challenges and divergences in empowerment action. Discussion: We found that it is critical to integrate empowerment education into professional training. The process of MHSPs developing their empowerment practice is characterized by their moving from individual to collective empowerment along a continuum, with organizational and collective empowerment taking place in a longer time frame. Experiential learning, empathy education, and critical reflection accelerated the continuous iterative transformative process of empowerment practices. To advance the integration of empowerment into mental health care, the engagement of organizational decision-makers and policy makers in empowerment training is critical to ensure alignment of empowerment values and competence at all levels of service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Canada depends on Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), also known as migrant workers, to fill labour shortage in agriculture, hospitality, construction, child/senior care, and other low-skilled occupations. Evidence shows that TFWs, especially women live-in caregivers (LC), constitute a vulnerable population. Their health is compromised by the precarious and harsh working and living conditions they encounter. There is a paucity of research on the mental health of LCs, their support systems and access to mental health services.Method: In this community-based exploratory study, we used mixed methods of survey and focus groups to explore the work related experiences and mental health of migrant live-in caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants. The inclusion criteria were: being 18 years or older, initially migrated to Canada as TFWs under LC program, resided in the Greater Toronto Area, and able to understand and converse in English based on self-report. This paper reports on the focus group results derived from inductive thematic analysis.Results: A total of 30 women LCs participated in the study. Most of them were from the Philippines. A number of key themes emerged from the participants' narratives: (1) precarious migration-employment status (re)produces exploitation; (2) deskilling and downward social mobility reinforce alienation; (3) endurance of hardship for family back home; (4) double lives of public cheerfulness and private anguish; and (4) unrecognized mental health needs. The study results reflected gross injustices experienced by these women.Conclusion: A multi-faceted approach is required to improve the working and living conditions of this vulnerable group and ultimately their health outcomes. We recommend the following: government inspection to ensure employer compliance with the labour standards and provision of safe working and living conditions; change immigration policy to allow migrant caregivers to apply for permanent residence upon arrival; the TFWs Program to establish fair wages and subsidized housing so that caregivers can truly access the live-out option; and local ethno-specific, settlement and faith organizations be leveraged to provide TFWs with social support as well as information about their rights and how to access health and social care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demographic characteristics of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) in Canada are increasingly diverse. Despite literature suggesting a potentially heightened mental health burden borne by racialized immigrant, refugee, and non-status PHAs (IRN-PHAs), researchers have hitherto paid insufficient attention to whether existing services adequately address this need and how services might be improved. Employing community-based research methodology involving PHAs from five ethnoracial groups in Toronto, Ontario, this study explored IRN-PHAs' mental health service-seeking behaviors, service utilization experiences, and suggestions for service improvements. Results showed that while most IRN-PHAs were proactive in improving their mental health, their attempts to obtain support were commonly undermined by service provider mistreatment, unavailability of appropriate services, and multiple access barriers. A three-pronged approach involving IRN-PHA empowerment, anti-stigma and cultural competence promotion, and greater service integration is proposed for improving IRN-PHAs' mental health service experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well documented that drug use is highly prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM) and that drug use is correlated with unprotected sex in this population. However, little is known about these phenomena as they relate to ethno-racial MSM in Canada. A survey was conducted to explore the prevalence and correlates of drug use in a sample of East and Southeast Asian MSM in Toronto. A total of 222 participants completed questionnaires. One in four participants reported drug use in the past six months, with 8.1% using three or more different types of drugs during that period. Marijuana and ecstasy were cited as the most popular drugs in this population. Drug use was found to be independently associated with ethnicity, prior HIV testing, prior STI testing, having a casual partner, unprotected anal sex with a casual partner, and history of seeking sex via bathhouses and the internet, in the past six months. The results indicate that drug use is associated with increased sexual risk behaviours among East and Southeast Asian MSM. HIV/STI prevention programs need to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies that specifically target drug use and address the specific needs of different ethnic Asian groups. Prevention strategies also need to continue to raise awareness that drug use can impair judgment and increase risk for HIV and STI infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the patterns of HIV and STI testing, and factors associated with HIV testing in a convenience sample of 222 East and Southeast Asian men in Toronto recruited through a gay bathhouse and a gay website. Approximately 75% of the respondents had sex with a casual partner in the previous six months (with an average of 16.7 partners). Over 25% of the respondents did not know their current HIV status and 19.8% of the total sample reported at least one incident of unprotected anal sex with a casual partner in the past six months. Half of those who had not previously been tested for HIV or STIs cited "I am at low risk for HIV and STI and don't need to be tested" as the main reason for not testing. Factors such as STI testing, history of seeking sex via bathhouses and the internet, having a casual partner or partners, and having higher numbers of casual partners in the past six months, were found to be associated with HIV testing. HIV prevention strategies need to continue to promote regular testing for HIV and STIs among Asian MSM. To increase testing, prevention efforts need to be focused on developing culturally and linguistically appropriate testing strategies that directly target altering risk perception and continue to emphasize the benefit of early testing. Testing strategies should aim to increase awareness of and access totesting and offer different methods of testing (such as finger prick HIV tests). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has shown that a large number of men who go to bathhouses engage in unprotected anal sex and have multiple sex partners. Relatively little is known about the behaviour and experiences of East and Southeast Asian men visiting bathhouses. The present study surveyed 101 men of East and Southeast Asian origin who attended a gay bathhouse in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The objective was to document their HIV-testing history, likelihood of condom use during anal sex with casual partners and to identify their reasons for using or not using condoms. Participants' HIV-testing history indicated that 15.8% had never been tested and 23.5% were last tested 2-4 years ago or more. About one quarter of the 86 men who had casual sex in the six months prior to the survey said they did not always use a condom. Forty-three percent of the men who had not used condoms for anal intercourse on one or more occasions indicated that "Sex partner looked healthy; should be OK" and "Got carried away in the excitement of the moment" as reasons why a condom was not used. HIV prevention efforts for this population need to address issues regarding accessibility of HIV testing and the provision of accurate and culturally relevant information about the importance of condom use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Temporary migrant live-in caregivers constitute a vulnerable stream of temporary foreign workers in Canada. This is because the majority are racialized women from the Global South, the gendered nature of caregiving work has historically been undervalued, and their working and living spheres are intertwined which makes application of labor laws and surveillance almost impossible. Their invisible position in the fabric of Canadian society along with their precarious employment and immigration status place their mental health at jeopardy. There is a paucity of research about psychological support for this population., Objective: Our pilot study Women Empowerment-Caregiver Acceptance and Resilience E-Learning (WE2CARE) aimed to assess the efficacy of a 6-week online delivery of a psychological intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in reducing psychological distress and promoting resiliency among live-in care givers in the Greater Toronto Area., Methods: A pilot randomized wait list controlled design was used. Participants were recruited by two community peer champions working with community health organizations serving migrant live-in caregivers. A total of 36 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to the intervention and wait list control groups; 7 dropped out of the study due to competing life priorities. Standardized self-reported surveys were administered online pre-, post-, and 6-week postintervention to assess mental distress (DASS-21), psychological flexibility (AAQ-2), mindfulness (CAMS-R), and Multi-System Model of Resilience (MSMR-I). Independent and dependent t tests were used to compare study outcomes at pre, post, and 6-week follow-up across and within both arms of the study. Linear mixed effects models were created for each outcome of interest from baseline to postintervention among intervention and control participants. Self-reported impact of the WE2CARE intervention was examined using independent t tests across the study arms., Results: Average age of participants was 38 years. Many were born in the Philippines (23/29, 79%). The data on the impact of the psychological intervention showed a lower level of depression, anxiety, and stress among the intervention group compared with the control. However, the differences were not significant due to small sample size and COVID-19 crisis (6.94 vs 9.50, P=.54; 6.94 vs 10.83, P=.20; 7.76 vs 10.33, P=.44, respectively). There was a significant improvement in mindful qualities and external resilience, particularly in life satisfaction and accessible support among the intervention group (37.18 vs 32.92, t 22 =2.35, P=.03; 20.29 vs 16.5, t 21 =2.98, P=.007; 8.47 vs 6.75, t 14 =2.41, P=.03; 7.59 vs 5.33, t 16 =.008, respectively)., Conclusions: WE2CARE is among the first studies exploring the efficacy of online delivery of ACT in addressing mental health challenges among live-in caregivers. While there are increased web-based ACT interventions, few use group videoconferencing to promote peer connection and mutual support. WE2CARE showed promising results in reducing psychological distress and promoting mindfulness and resiliency. The intervention highly motivated participants to engage collectively in building social support networks., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): RR2-10.2196/preprints.31211., (©Mandana Vahabi, Josephine Pui-Hing Wong, Masoomeh Moosapoor, Abdolreza Akbarian, Kenneth Fung. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 27.01.2022.)