Providing equitable and quality healthcare to all is a fundamental principle within all healthcare systems. Immigrant perinatal women are at greater risk for mental health problems yet face a myriad of challenges to access mental health services. Health literacy, which is the ability to access, understand, and apply basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions, has become a public health concern with immigrants having significantly low health literacy levels compared to Canadian-born citizens. Healthcare providers are in a unique position to limit or build their clients’ health literacy. They are expected to provide effective communication and ensure that health information is delivered and understood by their clients. The primary purpose of this study was to explore how healthcare providers negotiate the mental health needs of immigrant women during the perinatal period. In-depth interviews were used to obtain information about the perspectives of healthcare providers working with immigrant women and the contextual factors that influence immigrant women’s mental health and their engagement. The study’s findings will inform effective and culturally safe health literacy practices and development of future healthy public policy.
