Abstract
The current longitudinal study sought to identify predictors of professional help seeking for mental health problems amongst Afghan and Iraqi refugees five years post-settlement utilising the Building a New Life in Australia dataset (BNLA). Data were collected via face-to-face or phone interviews across five waves from October 2013 to March 2018. Afghan and Iraqi born refugees numbering 1180 and over 18 years of age with a permanent humanitarian visa were included in this study. The results suggest differences in help-seeking behaviors amongst the two ethnic groups. Amongst the Afghan sample, older adults with high psychological distress were more likely to seek help, while living in regional Australia, not requiring interpreters, and knowing how to find out information about government services were related to lower likelihood of help-seeking. Within the Iraqi sample, poor overall health and knowing how to find out about services were related to a greater likelihood of help-seeking, while fewer financial hardships decreased the likelihood of help-seeking. Amongst those with probable PTSD, disability was associated with an increased likelihood of help-seeking while experiencing fewer financial hardships and living in regional Australia resulted in a lower likelihood of help-seeking in this group. These results have implications for promotional material and mental health interventions, suggesting that more integrated services tailored to specific characteristics of ethnic groups are needed.
Highlights
Refugees are defined as individuals that are “unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” [4] (p. 3)
In the block analysis within the Afghan group, consistent with prior studies, older age and female gender were positively associated with professional help-seeking, while living in regional Australia held a negative association with help-seeking [15,25,50]
Amongst Iraqi refugees, being older was positively related to help-seeking; having good English-speaking proficiency resulted in a lower likelihood of seeking help
Summary
Within the Iraqi sample, poor overall health and knowing how to find out about services were related to a greater likelihood of help-seeking, while fewer financial hardships decreased the likelihood of helpseeking Amongst those with probable PTSD, disability was associated with an increased likelihood of help-seeking while experiencing fewer financial hardships and living in regional Australia resulted in a lower likelihood of help-seeking in this group. Between 2018 and 2019 Australia became home to 18,750 refugees under the Humanitarian Visa Program with an additional 12,000 places allocated for individuals displaced by the conflict in Syria and Iraq [3]) These numbers have been impacted by the current global pandemic, they are likely to be reinstated post COVID-19 with additional attention required for those affected by the current political upheaval in Afghanistan [5]
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