Mental health interventions for immigrant-refugee children and youth living in Canada: a scoping review and way forward.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic life events experienced by immigrant-refugee children and youth may deteriorate their mental health and well-being. It is a public health priority to develop appropriate mental health interventions for this population. AIMS: To understand the psychosocial needs of immigrant-refugee children and youth resettled in Canada in the context of their school and community and to identify the characteristics of school-/community-based mental health programs for this group. METHOD: Arksey and O'Malley's methodology for scoping reviews was used to select the studies based on criteria, extract data in a table, and synthesize main findings. RESULTS: Fifteen peer-reviewed articles and five grey literature were identified. Key findings show that collaboration between schools, communities, and families play a crucial role in developing and implementing comprehensive mental health interventions for immigrant-refugee children/youth. Involving cultural brokers/interpreters and racially diverse school teachers/staff, is important to establish a trustful relationship between school authorities and marginalized population. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to examine the impact of collaborative mental healthcare among multiracial and newcomer families in Canada. Furthermore, there is a need to study the impact of adopting creative expression programs at schools/communities to improve emotional/behavioural problems and enhance school performance of these groups.