Are There Mental Health Differences between Francophone and Non-Francophone Populations in Manitoba?

Abstract

Objective:Francophones may experience poorer health due to social status, cultural differences in lifestyle and attitudes, and language barriers to health care. Our study sought to compare mental health indicators between Francophones and non-Francophones living in the province of Manitoba.Methods:Two populations were used: one from administrative datasets housed at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and the other from representative survey samples. The administrative datasets contained data from physician billings, hospitalizations, prescription drug use, education, and social services use, and surveys included indicators on language variables and on self-rated health.Results:Outside urban areas, Francophones had lower rates of diagnosed substance use disorder (rate ratio [RR] = 0.80; 95% CI 0.68 to 0.95) and of suicide and suicide attempts (RR = 0.59; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.79), compared with non-Francophones, but no differences were found between the groups across the province in rates of diagnosed mood disorders, anxiety disorders, dementia, or any mental disorders after adjusting for age, sex, and geographic area. When surveyed, Francophones were less likely than non-Francophones to report that their mental health was excellent, very good, or good (66.9%, compared with 74.2%).Conclusions:The discrepancy in how Francophones view their mental health and their rates of diagnosed mental disorders may be related to health seeking behaviours in the Francophone population. Community and government agencies should try to improve the mental health of this population through mental health promotion and by addressing language and cultural barriers to health services.

Trajectories and Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life during Childhood

“…Non-English speakers may experience poorer health because living in a minority linguistic community can enhance language barriers to health care and diminish psychological well being. 25 In high-income countries, low SEP predicts the early onset of symptoms for various diseases, including cardiovascular disease and its related morbidities. 26 This may be related in part to unhealthy lifestyle habits or inadequate access to high-quality health care.…”

Incidence and prevalence of dementia in linked administrative health data in Saskatchewan, Canada: a retrospective cohort study

“…A lower age cutoff, as was used in the present study and in the study by Jacklin and colleagues [ 43 ], results in a lower rate of prevalence. Second, a longer observation period such as five years, as was used in most previous Canadian registry studies of dementia [ 39 – 42 ] likely results in a higher prevalence rate than a shorter observation period such as 12 months, as was used in the present study. Finally, employing a greater number of databases, particularly the RAI-MDS (LTC) database as in the present study, likely results in a higher rate than using few databases, as in the study by Jacklin and colleagues [ 43 ].…”

“…As shown in Additional file 1 , the ICD-9 codes used to identify dementia cases in hospital data during the ‘washout period’ of 1996 to 2001 (i.e., run-in period to ensure that cases identified after April 1, 2001 were in fact incident cases, and had not been previously identified) in the present study were identical to codes recommended by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) [ 38 ], and used by Chartier et al [ 39 ]. Recent recommendations from MCHP exclude most diagnosis codes that refer to the involvement of alcohol or drugs.…”

Unravelling the complexities of inequalities in mental healthcare and outcomes for cultural and linguistic minorities

“…11 The findings on Acadians are mirrored by studies of Francophones elsewhere in Canada as well as of international comparisons of different ethnic and language groups. 12,13 After adjusting for sociodemographic and economic factors, such as age, gender, education, income and place of residence, there was little difference in psychiatric morbidity as measured by community surveys or administrative data. 12,13 These factors rather than language per se appear to explain differences in the prevalence of disorders.…”

“…12,13 After adjusting for sociodemographic and economic factors, such as age, gender, education, income and place of residence, there was little difference in psychiatric morbidity as measured by community surveys or administrative data. 12,13 These factors rather than language per se appear to explain differences in the prevalence of disorders. 13 This does not mean that these variables remain static.…”