Abstract
BackgroundRefugees are particularly vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes due to exposure to pre migration trauma and post migration stressors. Research has demonstrated evidence to suggest that the professional help-seeking among refugee groups is low or problematic. This study seeks to examine help-seeking for emotional problems in two large samples of Iraqi and Afghan refugees in Australia.MethodsThis study uses data from two waves of the Building a New Life in Australia, the longitudinal study of Humanitarian migrants. The data was collected face-to-face between 2013 and 2016, among humanitarian migrants. All participants held a permanent protection visa and had arrived in Australia or been granted their visa between period of May to December 2013. The study sample included 1288 participants born in Iraq and Afghanistan (aged 15 and over). In the Wave 3 interview (2015–2016) participants reported on professional help received to deal with emotional problems.ResultsApproximately 36 and 37% of the Iraqi and Afghan groups respectively, reported seeking help for emotional problems. Within the Iraqi group, associations between mental health status, namely general psychological distress and PTSD and help-seeking were found but this was not present in the Afghan group, where age seemed to play a role in help-seeking. Frequency of help received was low with approximately 47% of the Iraqi and 57% of the Afghan groups reporting having received help 5 times or less in the last 12 months.ConclusionsFindings from this study provide clear directions on areas where culturally tailored mental health promotion programs should target in these two refugee communities. Further, the differences in help-seeking behaviour of these communities should be noted by both clinicians and policy makers as efforts to provide culturally responsive mental health services.
Highlights
Refugees are vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes due to exposure to pre migration trauma and post migration stressors
In research conducted by Correa-Velez and colleagues [8, 10], in which the annual, age-standardised hospital admission rates in Victoria for people born in refugee-source countries were compared with those of Australian-born people, participants from a refugee background were 30% less likely to have mental or behavioural admissions than those born in Australia
In an effort to develop a more robust understanding of factors influencing professional help-seeking in two key refugee groups being resettled in Australia, those from Afghanistan and Iraq, this study proposes to utilise the data from the Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) study [19]
Summary
Refugees are vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes due to exposure to pre migration trauma and post migration stressors. An additional 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq were resettled over 2016 and 2017, and these groups in addition to those from Afghanistan continue to make up the bulk of the current intake This increased intake numbers demonstrate the commitment the Australian government is providing as a response to the global humanitarian crisis. Some examples include offering opportunities for education through targeted English tuition and case work coordination They are provided a full range of Australian Government employment services assistance, and income support, from the date of their arrival in Australia. Another important area of focus in the resettlement of refugees is the provision of appropriate mental health services post resettlement. In research conducted by Correa-Velez and colleagues [8, 10], in which the annual, age-standardised hospital admission rates in Victoria for people born in refugee-source countries were compared with those of Australian-born people, participants from a refugee background were 30% less likely to have mental or behavioural admissions than those born in Australia
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