Partnering Organizations
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, COSTI Immigrant Services, London Cross Cultural Learner Centre, Polycultural Immigrant and Community Services

Location
Toronto, London, Ontario.

Background
Refugees are resilient, with unique migration experiences and needs while resettling in Canada. Pre-migration and migration experiences can heighten their risk for health problems. Their well-being is further jeopardized by challenges confronted during resettlement. With time in Canada, however, refugees’ mental and physical health declines.
The needs of Government Assisted Refugees (GARs) are supported when they first arrive by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) funded RAP service provider organizations (SPOs). Although RAP SPO staff are not expected nor are the organizations funded to provide mental health services – they should have experience and/or training to understand that clients may have had traumatic experiences – and be able to refer them to appropriate supports.

Rationale
This project arose in response to the following concerns:

• RAP service providers do not have the capacity to support GARs in distress
• RAP service providers are not funded to provide mental health services
• To support GARs in distress, it is critical that the right services are available at the right times
• Refugees tend to experience disparities in their access to mental health services, quality of care and health outcomes.

Guiding research questions
This project arose in response to the following concerns:

• How do RAP workers identify mental distress in their clients?
• What do RAP workers need to support clients in mental distress?
• How do RAP workers support clients in mental distress?

Project Stages
January - April 2022: Data Collection:

• Literature searches, document review and key informant semi-structured interview.

• Review findings from the first phase, develop a model and training strategy to support RAP staff.

• Train staff, with ongoing support, on the new model and pilot test the model to understand its feasibility and effectiveness.
  

Training Model Consist of:

• The mandatory use of the Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15)
• An accompanying online, self-directed training course: "Recognizing Mental Distress: A guide to using the Refugee Health Screener-15"
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Course structure
The course is divided into three major parts:

• Understanding mental distress and how it differs from mental disorders
• An exploration of how to use the RHS-15
• Referrals and supports: what staff can do after completing the RHS-15
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Next Steps
The training course is mandatory for RAP staff of the three partner organizations involved in the research. It will also be accessible to all other staff at the RAP partner organizations. Once the feasibility and effectiveness of the model has been established, the research team will incorporate feedback received from RAP staff to ensure that the model meets staff needs. Currently, the project is only funded for work with the partner organizations but there is potential for the model to be expanded nationwide to all RAP organizations.