title: Migrant pathways to community mental health centres in Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many studies indicate that migrants in western countries have limited access to and low utilization of community mental health centres (CMHCs) despite the high prevalence of mental disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to compare migrant pathways to care across four CMHCs located in different Italian provinces and to identify pathway to care predictors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Migrants attending the four CMHCs between 1 July 1999 and 31 December 2007 were included in the study. Data were gathered retrospectively from clinical data sets and chart review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five hundred and eleven (511) migrants attended the four CMHCs, 61% were referred by GPs or other health services and 39% followed non-medical pathways to care (self-referral or through social and voluntary organizations), with important site variations. Younger age and being married were predictors of medical pathways to care; lacking a residence permit and having a diagnosis of substance abuse were related to non-medical pathways.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pathways to CMHCs are complex and influenced by many factors. Non-medical pathways to care seem to be frequent among migrants in Italy. More attention should be paid to developing psychiatric consultation liaison models that also encompass the social services and voluntary organizations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, University of Bologna, Italy. ilaria.tarricone@unibo.it
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tarricone
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stivanello
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Niccolò
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Colombini
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bolla
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Braca
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giubbarelli
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Costantini
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cazzamalli
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mimmi
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tedesco
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Menchetti
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rigatelli
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maso
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balestrieri
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vender
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berardi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*