Barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health support among female migrants
Date
26 September 2023
Theme
Health inequalities, Gender inequalities, Migration
Author
Patrick Nyikavaranda, Marija Pantelic, Christina J Jones, Priyamvada Paudyal, Alice Tunks & Carrie D Llewellyn
In 2023, former DRI Director, Dr Patrick Nyikavaranda, led a research project focused on the mental health needs of female migrants in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
Recent years have seen record levels of migration to Europe. Female migrants are at heightened risk of developing mental health disorders, yet they face barriers to accessing mental health services in their host countries. This research provides a systematic review aiming to summarise the barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health support for female migrants in Europe.
Whilst male migrants utilise mental health services less than the general population, female migrants make disproportionately less use of these services compared to the male migrant population.
A co-production group of female migrants and professionals who support female migrants met to discuss the issues on mental health support. The group has continued to contribute to subsequent research on this topic.