Project 466939

Societies everywhere, including Canada, are increasingly culturally diverse. Healthcare systems and clinical care must reflect and adapt to these realities to ensure effective and equitable patient-centered care. For example, cultural and gender-based differences may exist in how people present their mental health symptoms and psychosocial concerns to their physician. If these differences are not considered, mental health and illness challenges may be overlooked, or inappropriately treated. This qualitative study seeks to understand how culture, gender, and their intersecting effects impact the presentation and recognition of mental health challenges in primary care. A focus group with interpreters who support culturally diverse patients in their appointments with family doctors will be held to explore their perceptions of how gender influences the clinical encounter. Interviews with experienced primary care clinicians will identify practical strategies to help recognize and interpret culture and gender mediated presentations of mental health challenges. The results of this study will inform a module to complement training in patient-centered care and improve the recognition and treatment of mental health challenges in multicultural populations. Ultimately, this will help to address inequities in mental health care and outcomes.