ADEQUACY OF HEALTH-SERVICES FOR YOUNG IMM IGRANT FAMILIES

This article relates the results of descriptive exploratory research c onducted through interviews with 297 young immigrant families and 40 h ealth and social workers on the primary health problems encountered by the families and on how they resolved these problems. Families and wo rkers rank problems in different orders of priority. While families gi ve priority to the health problems of their children, workers give pri ority to the problems encountered by the mothers, and in particular, m ental health problems. Families and workers alike express a desire for help from the health and social service system for these problems. Fo r families, this help would come from family doctors and nurses. These health providers are subsequently consulted; when they are not, langu age is determined to be the main obstacle to accessibility., Difficult ies related to cultural compatibility of services are seen as more num erous by workers than by families.