Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Multicultural Australia: A Collaborative Regional Approach.

Ilse Blignault,Heba Baddah,Klara Giourgas,Hend Saab,Lisa Woodland

doi:10.3390/ijerph19052723

Abstract

Migrant communities are often under-served by mental health services. Lack of community engagement results in missed opportunities for mental health promotion and early intervention, delayed care, and high rates of untreated psychological distress. Bilingual clinicians and others who work with these communities lack linguistically and culturally appropriate resources. This article reports on the implementation and evaluation of a community-based group mindfulness program delivered to Arabic and Bangla-speaking communities in Sydney, Australia, including modifications made to the content and format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was positioned within a stepped-care model for primary mental health care and adopted a collaborative regional approach. In addition to improved mental health outcomes for face-to-face and online program participants, we have documented numerous referrals to specialist services and extensive diffusion of mindfulness skills, mostly to family members, within each community. Community partnerships were critical to community engagement. Training workshops to build the skills of the bilingual health and community workforce increased the program’s reach. In immigrant nations such as Australia, mainstream mental health promotion must be complemented by activities that target specific population groups. Scaled up, and with appropriate adaptation, the group mindfulness program offers a low-intensity in-language intervention for under-served communities.

Highlights

The increasing number of international migrants and refugees worldwide presents a challenge for the delivery of health services and health promotion programs in destination countries
In 2016, multicultural Australia was home to people with more than 300 different ancestries and speaking over 300 different languages [4]. Such diversity is recognised as a national strength [6]. It is captured in the collective term ‘culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)’ which refers to “the non-Indigenous cultural and linguistic groups represented in the Australian population who identify as having cultural or linguistic
Aim: To discuss signs of stress and vulnerabilities experienced by participants, identify helpful and unhelpful stress responses and provide a set of motivating and practical stress management skills

Summary

Introduction

The increasing number of international migrants and refugees worldwide presents a challenge for the delivery of health services and health promotion programs in destination countries. At the 2016 Census, 28% of Australia’s population were born overseas [4], a level that is higher than most countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [5]. Another 21% of the population had one or both parents who were born overseas [4]. In 2016, multicultural Australia was home to people with more than 300 different ancestries and speaking over 300 different languages [4]. Such diversity is recognised as a national strength [6]. Education on judgement and self-judgement and managing painful emotions. Definition of self, emphasising self-care through loving kindness and self-compassion

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