Addressing Mental Health Challenges and Linguistic Barriers of Migrants – A Review

Abstract

Coerced displacement is a pressing global challenge, often manifesting through exacerbated mental health barriers and language barriers; negatively interfering with access to suitable healthcare services [2]. The key purpose of this article was to raise awareness regarding this issue and to potentially help inform health policy makers about the difficulties migrants face. A qualitative research was done to summarize the scientific literature review, it focuses on studies published in the last few years. The PubMed database was searched using keywords including "migrant mental health," "linguistic barriers," and "immigrant health". Inclusion criteria comprising peer-reviewed articles addressing mental health issues and language barriers among migrants. A gap in addressing the linguistic barriers and mental health challenges faced by immigrants have been identified, forcing health providers to rely on untrustworthy tools; utilizing licensed translators (which are expensive and the commuting time is lost and if the online consultations may pose additional difficulties) or other unreliable digital tools [3]. Refugees are frequently stigmatized, which worsens the perception and the access to health services they would have been entitled to [3]. The findings reveal a critical and masked gap in professional interpretation services, in which the consequences are that mental health providers are forced to rely on informal or unreliable digital tools. The participants pointed out the significance for Artificial Intelligence - driven translation solutions which are capable of handling the sensitive, culturally loaded discussions [1]. Migrants are generally more predisposed to facing mental health setbacks due to displacement aggravated by linguistic barriers and systematic challenges [4]. Tools driven by AI capable of translating and managing the sensitive and culturally nuanced dialogue are needed to provide equitable mental health access [1].