Modul 3

The core emphasis of the third module is the current state of cross-cultural openness of mental health care institutions, community mental health care system and addiction aid in a district of Berlin.

These institutions are officially open to all population groups, yet there is evidence of lower utilization by immigrants of mental health care institutions. In addition, higher drop out rates, medical malpractice and false diagnoses in inpatient settings demonstrate the limitations to successful treatment of people with an immigration background. Although the concept of cross-cultural openness at mental health care institutions in Germany has been discussed for twenty years now, the extent to which the concept of cross-cultural openness has been implemented in mental health care remains unclear to date. Until now there are no firm findings indicating whether cross-cultural openness has achieved the desired results (e.g. higher utilization rate among immigrants, satisfaction among staff and clients with an immigration background). Furthermore, hardly any interviews have been conducted asking immigrants about their wishes, ideas and expectations regarding “immigrant sensitive” care.

During the project, a questionnaire will be created based on existing catalogs and instruments to assess the current state of cross-cultural openness. It will serve as the basis for assessing mental health care institutions, community mental health care system and addiction aid in Berlin. After data evaluation, field studies will be conducted in selected institutions to provide greater insight into the actual state of implementation of cross-cultural openness and to highlight differences in communication and courses of action. Semi-structured interviews conducted with immigrants using the facilities and professionals at these institutions will provide further insights into their thoughts, expectations and wishes.

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