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We present findings of a qualitative study exploring what constitutes relevant health promotion initiatives for immigrant mothers of children with developmental disabilities. We apply a social ecological approach, with a focus on gender-specific and transformative health promotion, to examine factors impacting mothers' health and wellbeing. Twenty-eight semi-structured and open-ended interviews were conducted with immigrant mothers in the greater Toronto area, Canada. Mothers identified facilitators, challenges, and strategies for their health promotion, providing relevant insights for meaningful intervention. Our findings show that immigrant mothers' health is influenced by intersecting social determinants of health, including migration status, gender, and disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although immigrant women bear a disproportionate burden of chronic disease and mental health issues, limited research addresses how to promote their mental wellbeing. The authors first describe grounded theory findings from community-based focus group research with 57 racialized immigrant women in Toronto, Canada that used a critical gender and intersectional lens to explore the links among settlement, wellbeing, and activism. Secondly, a community mobilization strategy is described whereby racialized immigrant women discuss activism as a feature of wellbeing in various language communities while creating meaningful health promotion resources. Implications for creating activism-based initiatives to promote women's wellbeing are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A literature review regarding the social support of immigrant mothers of disabled children in Canada was undertaken with a focus on settings where supports need to be shored up. An integrative review of published papers and policy reports concerning key aspects of social supports for immigrant mothers and disabled children was undertaken. Immigrant mothers experience numerous barriers to social supports for themselves and their disabled children. Maternal immigrant populations experience unique challenges in the setting of childhood disability as well as the challenges of mothers in the dominant culture. There are negative impacts on maternal health as a result of inadequate policy offerings. Public health policy needs to be refashioned in light of weak systems and supports for both immigrant mothers and disabled children and to acknowledge that the current system poses concerning implications for the long-term health of both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over a decade, the concept of therapeutic landscapes has provided health geographers with a useful framework for investigating the dynamics between place and well-being. However, its application has been largely restricted to physical places in which human co-presence is a necessary condition. Through both a review of the literature on therapeutic landscapes and four personal narratives from immigrants to Canada, the concept is extended to interpret experiences of migration and to explore, in particular, the personalized mental strategies that individuals enact to enhance their mental health and promote their well-being in times of change. These involve memories of home and a range of practical methods that are employed to strengthen them. Given these findings, it is argued that the therapeutic landscape concept should be extended beyond physical sites to include everyday and personalized place-related memories. The authors term this expanded concept 'therapeutic landscapes of the mind'. Given this proposed broader definition, the concept may usefully be applied beyond health geography as a theoretical framework by other health-focused academic disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]