A Narrative Inquiry of East Asian Parents and Mental Health in Canada: Critical Openings for Anti-Racism Strategies in Knowledge Translation

BackgroundAnti-Asian racism is linked with adverse mental health conditions in young East Asian populations. There is a need to explore how to develop mental health resources for East Asian parents, yet minimal research explores anti-racism strategies for this work.PurposeThe objectives were to: open a critical dialogue for developing anti-racism strategies for mental health knowledge translation (KT) resource development, and explore complexities with engaging East Asian parents when developing KT resources.MethodsA narrative inquiry was conducted to collect East Asian parent stories on anti-racism strategies and mental health. East Asian parents across Canada engaged in semi-structured interviews between August to October 2022. Dialogic/performance analysis was used to inductively analyze the data. Findings: Three composite counter-narratives emerged from the data: 1) Storying issues of access within child mental health KT; 2) Seeking understanding and solidarity for the East Asian identity and story; 3) Unlearning, breaking barriers, and storying resistance. The composite narratives wove together seven storylines: a) availability and affordability, b) language and vocabulary barriers, c) lack of representation, d) issues of representation: power and whiteness, e) East Asian standpoint epistemology, f) breaking cycles, g) culture as a source of strength.ConclusionThe findings highlighted the complexities of engaging East Asian parents and recommended the need for an East Asian standpoint epistemology when developing child mental health KT resources and counter-spaces as a way to facilitate the centrality of East Asian standpoint epistemologies. These anti-racism strategies may promote solidarity for shared experiences beyond the white gaze and spaces.