Bridging Borders: Improving Mental Healthcare Access for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children

Claudia S.P. Fernandez

A chapter in From Clinical Practice to Public Health Applications - The Successful, Sustainable and Scalable Outcomes of the Clinical Scholars Program from IntechOpen

Abstract: Bridging Borders (BB) was formed to support the mental health training needs of healthcare and mental health providers working with unaccompanied immigrant children who crossed the US Southern border and who are now living in the greater Houston, Texas area with parents or guardians. Needs were identified using a qualitative research design with an action research approach. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with unaccompanied immigrant children, their caregivers, clinical providers, and community leaders, resulting in the identification of seven key themes. A systematic review was conducted and published that confirmed the limited access to health and mental health resources for these youth. Informed by this research, the team designed and disseminated a clinical guide and toolkit focused on trauma-informed, culturally sensitive care. A dedicated website was created to serve as a centralized source of information for youth, their caregivers, and providers, and as a communication portal for providers seeking support as they care for these often-marginalized children. We created a documentary featuring four of these resilient youth and organized a half-day conference to share project findings and raise awareness of the unique needs of these children and their caregivers. This project demonstrates the importance of collaboration between health and mental health providers to advocate for the needs of their patients, and in this case, the need for culturally responsive and trauma-informed care for children who cross the southern United States border to seek asylum, without the guidance and protection of a parent or guardian.

Keywords: mental healthcare; immigrant youth; unaccompanied immigrant children; community-based research; qualitative research; Clinical Scholars (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ito:pchaps:330921

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.115585

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