229 Mental health for all - from evidence to engagement: being proactive to mitigate language barriers and to improve equity of mental health care for refugees and migrants

Sep 30, 2026

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Research on the social determinants of health highlights persistent health inequalities driven by broader social inequities. This analysis focuses on refugees and other migrants who face distinctive vulnerability to mental health problems alongside linguistic and cultural barriers limiting access to mental health services. Communication barriers in mental healthcare are treated as a critical social determinant that can be addressed by converting knowledge into action through workshop arguments and EU project materials. Findings stress unmet need for professional linguistic support and mediators to build trust and enable quality care. Conclusions call for linguistic mediation and language services to reduce inequalities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Aims

Methods

Results

Conclusions

2nd World Congress on Migration, Ethnicity, Race & Health Abstract Book vi115 Abstract citation ID: ckaf180.318 229 Mental health for all – from evidence to engagement: being proactive to mitigate language barriers and to improve equity of mental health care for refugees and migrants Ilaria Galasso4, Giuseppe Costa5, Gaddo Flego6, Nora Gattiglia7, Lucio Ghio8, Carlotta Gualco1, Antonio Guerci9, Michael Marmot10, Mara Morelli11, Stefania Muzi11, Cecilia Serena Pace11, Paolo Peloso8, Barbara Schouten3, Gianluca Serafini12, Anna Siri9,13, Emilio Di Maria1,2 1Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy 2University Unit of Medical Genetics, Galliera Hospital, Genoa, Italy 3Department of Communication Science/ASCoR, Center for Urban Mental Health, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 4School of Business, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 5Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy 6Ospedale Evangelico Internazionale, Genoa, Italy 7Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy 8Department of Mental Health, ASL 3 Genovese, Genoa, Italy 9UNESCO Chair Anthropology of Health. Biosphere and Healing Systems, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy 10Institute of Health Equity, University College of London, London, United Kingdom 11Department of Educational Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy 12Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy 13Pegaso Telematic University, Napoli, Italy EP1.2, e-Poster Terminal 1, September 3, 2025, 13:05-13:55 Aims: Decades of research on the social determinants of health demonstrated significant health inequalities corresponding to social inequalities. We consider here a specific example: the well-documented distinctive vulnerability of refugees and other migrant people to mental health issues, combined with the linguistic and cultural barriers that migrants experience to access mental health services. Barriers to effective communication in mental healthcare are here? analysed as a critical social determinant of health inequalities?that could be effectively addressed by turning knowledge into action. Methods: This analysis paper was developed from the arguments drawn at the joint workshop “Mental health for all – from evidence to engagement”, which took place in March 2023 at the University of Genoa, and by referring to the EU-funded project Mental Health for All (MH4ALL) and the Jean Monnet module SANTÉ . Results: Professional linguistic support emerged as a crucial, unmet, need to facilitate communication. The linguistic mediator has a pivotal role to facilitate and support effective communication between the patient and the mental health staff – this is a vital mechanism for creating a relationship of trust between the two parties, and for the provision of quality services and the appropriate healthcare assistance. Conclusions: We recommend linguistic mediation as an essential prerequisite for effective communication in mental health care. We conclude by urging healthcare systems to provide effective language services for all users who are proficient in the host country language in mental health care settings, as a way to concretely commit to mitigate health inequalities.

FAQs

What problem does the study address regarding mental health care for refugees and migrants?

It examines how distinctive vulnerability to mental health issues combines with linguistic and cultural barriers that hinder access to mental health services.

How are communication barriers treated in the analysis?

Communication barriers in mental healthcare are analyzed as a critical social determinant of health inequalities that can be addressed by turning knowledge into action.

What role do linguistic mediators play according to the results?

Professional linguistic support is identified as a crucial unmet need, and linguistic mediators are described as key to facilitating communication and building trust between patients and mental health staff.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by Sarah