Barriers and facilitators associated with the use of mental health services among immigrant students in high-income countries: a scoping review protocol

BACKGROUND: While the mental health of immigrants is a growing issue that is attracting increasing interest from researchers, the same cannot be said for the mental health of immigrant students especially for international students. Indeed, the mental health of immigrant students and their use of mental health services are still poorly documented despite the significant increase in the number of these students in many high-income countries. This scoping review aims to providing an overview and exploring gaps in existing research regarding access to mental health care among immigrant students by identifying barriers and facilitators associated with the use of mental health services in high-income countries. METHODS: With the help of a professional librarian, we will develop a search strategy including several keywords such as mental health, mental illness, immigrant, students, immigrant students, or international students and access to care or use of mental health services. The following electronic databases will be searched (from their inception onwards): MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection, Education Source, and Embase. Studies addressing access to and use of mental health care conducted on immigrant students (adolescent and above) in high-income countries will be included. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. A narrative summary of findings will be conducted. Data analysis will involve quantitative (e.g., frequencies) and qualitative (e.g., content and thematic analysis) methods. DISCUSSION: The purpose of this scoping review is to better map the literature on the mental health of immigrant students and their use of mental health care services. In doing so, we aim to identify barriers and facilitators to access and use of mental health care. Identifying barriers and facilitators of mental health services by immigrant students will support the development of appropriate interventions that can help improve access and use of mental health services by immigrant students in high-income countries. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework (osf.io/a2rk6) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-022-01896-6.