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Abstract
This study presents preliminary results on the level of mental health problems in a small community of immigrants from Thailand. Data for the study were derived from a pilot survey of adult Thai immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada. Survey data were collected from a non-probability sample of 145 adults between January and May 2009. Using a threshold of 5/6 for GHQ-28, about 14% of the sample was considered at risk for psychiatric disorder or mental health problems. Acculturative stress significantly increased risk of psychiatric disorder, whereas social support and mastery significantly lowered risk of psychiatric disorder. Participants working multiple jobs and renting an accommodation also had an increased risk of psychiatric disorder. Community-based intervention programmes that focus on developing social support and personal mastery among Thai immigrants are recommended.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by research funds to the corresponding author. We would like to thank the Thai Canadians who participated in this study and the community researchers who contributed to the data collection process.
Notes on contributors
Apisamai Srirangson is a psychiatrist at Srithanya Hospital, Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health in Bangkok, Thailand. She was an international fellow psychiatrist at the Centre for Addition and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada, and at Ontario Shores, Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Toronto, Canada, from 2007 to 2010.
Kednapa Thavorn is a Research Analyst at the Health Systems and Health Equity Research group at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada and a PhD candidate in Health Service Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada.
Miea Moon is a Research Analyst at the Health Systems and Health Equity Research group (HSHER) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada and a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Canada.
Samuel Noh is a David Crombie Professor of Cultural Pluralism and Health and Director of the Culture, Community and Health Studies Program of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada, and a Senior Research Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada.