Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: "It has not occurred to me to see a doctor for that kind of feeling": A qualitative study of 
Filipina immigrants' perceptions of help seeking for mental health problems  
 
Version: 0 Date: 23 Mar 2017  
 
Reviewer: Michaela Hynie  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
This is an interesting manuscript that focuses on the barriers to accessing mental health care 
among Filipino immigrant women in Norway. The literature review was appropriate although I 
would suggest some inclusion of the literature suggesting the that immigrants are healthier than 
residents of many countries when they first arrive (i.e., the healthy immigrant effect), and 
whether that is the case in Norway also would be interesting to know. The description of the 
sample, m ethods and analytic procedures was clear.  
The findings are not surprising and are consistent with much of what is found in other research 
on this issue. For this reason, the choice of a post -colonial feminist framework is a good 
contribution to a topic and has the potential to take it to a new lev el. It was therefore 
disappointing that while the authors identified structural and gendered barriers to women's 
mental health service use, it was not clear how the post -colonial elements of this approach were 
applied. Perhaps this could be strengthened? I  was also somewhat concerned by the nature of the 
sample, who had a large number of women with health training, which as the authors note may 
have altered their experiences. Moreover, only one reported that she could have benefited from 
mental health servi ces so it is difficult to know whether the barriers identified by the other 
women would have been relevant if they were actually feeling a need or desire for care. On the 
other hand, grounding the findings in the particularities of the Norwegian health car e system was 
informative and interesting.  
Overall, however, the paper was interesting and well written and provides a detailed description 
of one group of newcomers navigating a particular system to access care, showing how common 
challenges emerge across  different national contexts and different migrant populations.  
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
  
Does the work include the necessary con trols?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Unable to assess  
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess  any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an  
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further  
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
Not relevant to this manuscript  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Acceptable  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
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1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an  
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3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the  
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holds  or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
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below.  If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
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