The provision of mental health services to immigrants and refugees in Italy: The barriers and facilitating factors experienced by mental health workers

Objective: To explore the barriers and facilitating factors to the provision of mental health services to immigrants and refugees by exploring the experiences of mental health workers (MHWs.) Method: A qualitative study was performed in May 2013 in a city in the Emilia Romagna region. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling and 14 semi-structured interviews were performed with MHWs. Framework Analysis was used to interpret the data. Results: Five facilitating factors were identified: language skill of patients, involvement of patients' family, specialist cultural psychiatric services, voluntary services and organisation of the mental health system. Five barriers were identified: patients' perceptions, lack of family support, cultural knowledge of MHWs, language skill of MHWs and funding of the mental health system. Conclusions: The barriers and facilitating factors identified reflect findings from research in both European and non-European countries. Nevertheless, the results of this study highlight the fact that a national mental health policy for immigrants and refugees needs to be implemented alongside cultural competence training programmes and specialist cultural psychiatric services.