Background: Ethiopian immigrants in Israel (EI) have limited familiarity with western psychiatric care and, reciprocally, their culture is hardly known by mental health professionals.
Objective: to compare utilization patterns of ambulatory psychiatric services in Israel by EI and other population groups.
Methods: EI, former Soviet Union immigrants and Israel-born users of the 64 psychiatric governmental clinics and of the nationwide psychiatric rehabilitation services were compared on demographic and clinical data. Data were obtained from the Ministry of Health for the years 1997-2003.
Results: Among the EI cared in psychiatric clinics, there was a greater proportion of users with psychotic disorders; a lesser proportion was referred by self, family or friends; a greater proportion was prescribed psychotropic medications; and a lesser proportion received individual psychotherapy. EI used more protected housing facilities and less social and leisure services.
Discussion: Patterns of utilization of both types of services were found to be different among EI, suggesting a need to develop culturally-sensitive programs for both the Ethiopian immigrants and the mental health professionals.