Canada's refugee mental health services to be adapted to their culture and ethnicity: Study

But these immigrants soon succumb to mental illness owing to language barriers in getting the treatment and lack of help due to stigma. Refugees already suffering from stress disorder, anxiety or depression do not access services.

The new report entitled "The Case for Diversity," is directed towards greater investment in programs and treatments adaptable to different cultures and languages.

"By working to reduce disparities in access to services, the appropriateness of services used, and mental health outcomes, Canada can reduce overall system costs," the report said.

Access to early treatment could minimise emergency department visits, hospital admissions, costs incurred due to loss of productivity and criminal justice system.

Dr. Kwame McKenzie, director of health equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, a psychiatry professor at the University of Toronto, and one of the report's authors   says that  helping the newcomers to learn the language, help refugees to find a job, housing and social supports are key factors in mental health.

Early intervention of the problem can be cost saving. "If you have evidence-based interventions and they have easy access to it, we'll be able to get people better and get them on their way," McKenzie said.

But only 6.3 percent of refugees access treatment, compared to 9.6 percent of immigrants and 12.5 percent of non-immigrant Canadians, said reports.

Referring to the Syrian refugees McKenzie said, "I think for the Syrian refugees, there's a lot of evidence accruing that the response, and the particular response in Canada, has been really good. So it may be that we'll see lower levels of mental health problems than we've had in other groups because of that."

"The Case for Diversity" project reviewed 408 studies involving 41,920 people. The results revealed that culturally adapted therapies were more effective than programs targeting culturally mixed groups.

"Diversity has been a hallmark of contemporary Canadian society and it should be foundational to the planning and delivery of mental health services at all levels," the report concludes.

"Meeting the needs of IRER [immigrant, refugee, ethno-cultural and racialized] populations is an urgent priority for the Canadian mental health system and its service providers."

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott said, "The statistics around mental health and mental illness in this country are appalling. We are seeing rising suicide rates in young people. We are seeing dramatic productivity losses in this country because people are going with untreated mental illness. "There's an excellent economic argument for improving investments in mental health."

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)