Search results

Mental health recovery across cultures lacks understanding and suitable measures. The Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR) is a self-report instrument measuring personal recovery outcomes for consumers of mental health services. However, the extent of its relevance among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities is unclear. This pilot study aimed to examine the relevance and utility of the QPR among CALD consumers of primary mental health services in Australia.

Eleven individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two general practitioners (GPs) and nine consumers from two clinics, at locations with high Iranian and Burmese refugee or asylum seeker populations. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using a thematic framework approach.

Although almost all consumers had little or no understanding of the concept of personal recovery, they found the QPR culturally acceptable and understandable. Using the QPR during mental health consultations can help with needs identification and goal setting. Challenges in using the QPR included completion time, cross-cultural differences in concepts and norms for some items, and need for careful translation. Consumers suggested additional items regarding family reputation, sexuality, and spirituality.

The QPR is potentially a valuable tool to support mental health consultations with CALD consumers, from the perspectives of both GPs and consumers.

Despite the substantial body of international research exploring the effects of forced migration on mental health and the obstacles faced by refugee cohorts in accessing mental health services, there is a lack of in-depth studies specifically focusing on Bosnian refugees in Australia – one of the largest ethnic groups of displaced peoples. This qualitative investigation seeks to convey the experiences of mental health services by five Bosnian refugees in Melbourne, highlighting perceived pathways and barriers to service utilisation. This study aims to address two primary research questions: firstly, what characterises the experiences of Bosnian refugees in Australia when accessing mental health services? Secondly, what are the main barriers encountered by this population when seeking mental health services?

This study used qualitative inquiry and in-depth interviews to investigate the experiences of Bosnian refugees with mental health services in Australia. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with five Melbourne-based Bosnian refugees who had previously accessed mental health services. Participants were recruited from community groups or associations using purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was used.

Key themes were revealed, such as the crucial role of social and community services, preferences for individual vs group therapy, potential re-traumatisation from therapeutic engagement, distrust of government-run mental health services and concerns regarding psychopharmaceutical prescription practices. Addressing barriers to mental health service access necessitates a multifaceted approach, including flexible social and community service support, an increased number of co-ethnic professionals and a recognition of cultural variations for effective service provision. Implementing these strategies can enhance help-seeking behaviours, provide culturally appropriate mental health services and improve the experiences of Bosnian refugees in Australia.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to qualitatively explore how Bosnian refugees in Melbourne perceived the adequacy and availability of mental health services upon arrival to Australia. They are a large and potentially vulnerable community, due to experiences of war trauma and dislocation from country of origin. A lack of understanding regarding how this cohort engage with mental health services can lead to persistent inequities and ineffective service provision. This study identifies unique experiences and perspectives of Bosnian refugee participants, including distrust of government-run mental health services, and concerns regarding psychopharmaceutical prescription practices. This research is expected to contribute positively to the discourse on mental health service provision for Bosnian refugees and wider refugee communities in Australia.

This paper aims to explore the intersection of cultural processes and immigration in parental understanding of adolescent mental health and mental health seeking behaviors among African immigrants in Western countries. The present study examines the perspectives of Congolese immigrant parents on adolescent mental health in Brussels, Belgium, and Raleigh, North Carolina, USA – two geographic regions with relatively large Congolese migrant populations. This study highlights a needed understanding of cultural and acculturative context in shaping the beliefs of Congolese immigrants and explores potential barriers of seeking health services. Additionally, it recognizes health issues among this underrepresented and underserved population.

Fifteen Congolese immigrant parents, eight in the USA and seven in Belgium, participated in structured qualitative interviews using an adapted version of Kleinman Questions and behavioral scenarios on depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Interviews were audio recorded, and participants were assigned pseudonyms to de-identify responses. English interviews were transcribed verbatim by a trained team of undergraduate research assistants, and French interviews were transcribed verbatim by the first author and a graduate research assistant. Following transcription, the first and second authors used a rapid analytic approach (Hamilton, 2013). The first and second authors conducted a matrix analysis to observe thematic patterns.

Parents interpreted adolescent behavior to be more problematic when the scenarios were overtly outside of their cultural realm of values and beliefs. Parents preferred methods of intervention through religious practices and/or family and community efforts rather than seeking mental health services in their host countries as a secondary option. The authors’ findings provide an understanding of the values and beliefs of this underrepresented demographic, which may be useful to guide health professionals on how to support this community in a culturally responsive way.

Limitations to the current study include the structured nature of the interview guide that did not allow for in-depth qualitative exploration. Interviewed participants had lived in their host countries for more than 10+ years. Thus, the authors’ findings are not reflective of new immigrants’ experiences. Parents’ perspectives were likely shaped by exposure to Western beliefs related to support for mental health (e.g. knowledge of psychologists). Future studies should focus on recent refugees due to exposure to traumatic events and experiences reflective of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) current socio-political situation, and how these are understood in the context of adolescent mental health. Further, due to the hypothetical nature of the scenarios, the authors cannot be sure that participants would engage in the identified approaches with their children. Additionally, hearing from the youth’s perspective would provide a clearer insight on how mental health and seeking professional help is viewed in a parent–child relationship. Finally, the data for this study were collected in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the authors cannot speak directly to Congolese refugee and immigrant experiences during this significant historical period, given the rise in mental health concerns in refugee populations more broadly (Logie et al., 2022), the authors’ findings speak to how parents may have responded to increased mental health symptoms and point to additional barriers that these populations may have faced in accessing support. The authors’ study emphasizes the need for dedicating resources and attention to this population, especially the development of culturally tailored messaging that invites community members to support the mental health needs of their community.

The authors’ findings provide important implications for mental health professionals. This study provides a clearer understanding of how Congolese immigrant parents view mental health and help-seeking within their cultural frame. Although parents may seek professional help, a distrust of mental health services was expressed across both cohorts. This suggests that mental health professionals should acknowledge potential distrust among this population and clarify their role in supporting the mental health of adolescent immigrants. Clinicians should inquire about familial cultural beliefs that are parent- and child-centered and modify their interventions to fit these belief structures.

This paper addresses the gap in knowledge about mental health perspectives of Sub-Saharan African immigrant populations, specifically those from the DRC.

Current and predicted continued dramatic increases in international migration and ethnocultural diversity of older adult cohorts pose challenges for health care services. Review studies on ethnoculturally diverse older adults and health care show a lack of focus on their service use experiences. This study aims to report a meta-ethnography that addresses this knowledge gap through answering the review question: How do ethnoculturally diverse older adults who are immigrants experience health careservices?

The authors applied a seven-phase method of meta-ethnography to guide the review. The authors conducted two literature searches (April 2018 and June 2020) in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Sociological Abstracts and Abstracts in Social Gerontology that yielded 17 papers eligible for review.

“There’s always something positive and something negative” is the overarching metaphor for answering the review question. Findings highlight positive and negative tensions within ethnoculturally diverse older adults’ health care use experiences of understanding and being understood, having trust in providers and the health care system, having needs, preferences and resources met and desire for self-care over dependency. The majority of experiences were negative. Tipping points towards negative experiences included language, fear, provider attitudes and behaviours, service flexibility, attitudes towards Western and traditional health care and having knowledge and resources.

The authors propose concrete actions to mitigate the tipping points. The authors discuss policy recommendations for health care system changes at the micro, meso and macro service levels to promote positive experiences and address mainstream service policy inequities.

This paper aims to review research on mental health and well-being (MHW) in tourism, which the United Nations addresses in Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 (SDG 3). The authors also pinpoint future directions regarding how tourism can contribute to this goal from theoretical and practical standpoints.

The authors review the literature on MHW in tourism from the perspectives of tourists, residents and tourism workers.

Researchers have predominantly analysed tourists’ MHW outcomes through the lenses of positive psychology and tourism therapy; only a small number of studies have focused on MHW-related benefits and challenges in terms of tourism development for residents and tourism workers. Investigations of MHW in tourism require interdisciplinary approaches to reveal how tourism promotes diverse stakeholders’ mental health. Practically, there is an urgent need to incorporate tourism products and services into mental health care, and design tourism experience with positive psychology principles.

This study offers insights into fostering MHW through tourism. It specifically proposes theoretical and practical ways in which tourism might enhance MHW for various industry stakeholders, contributing to SDG 3.

本文基于联合国可持续发展目标中的第三个目标（SDG 3）, 对旅游中的心理健康和幸福感研究进行了回顾, 并就旅游如何助推这一目标的实现指明了未来的研究和实践方向。

本文从游客、居民和旅游从业者的角度对与旅游中的心理健康和幸福感相关的文献进行了回顾和评估。

当前研究主要从积极心理学和旅游疗法的视角分析了游客的心理健康和幸福感, 有关旅游业发展对居民和旅游从业者心理健康和幸福感的积极影响及挑战的研究尚不多见。因此, 需采用跨学科进路来揭示旅游业对不同利益相关者心理健康的促进作用。在实践方面, 亟需将旅游产品和服务纳入到心理健康护理体系中, 并依据积极心理学原理来开展旅游体验设计。

本文为通过旅游发展来促进心理健康与幸福感这一主题提供了见解。本文为旅游业如何提高各利益相关者的心理健康与幸福感提供了理论方面和实践方面的进路, 从而助推联合国可持续发展目标中第三个目标的实现。

Este artículo revisa los estudios y las investigaciones sobre la salud mental y el bienestar en el turismo (MHW por sus siglas en inglés, basándose en el Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 3 (ODS 3) de las Naciones Unidas, y explora las futuras direcciones de investigación y práctica en el impulso del logro de este objetivo a través del turismo.

Se revisa la literatura relevante sobre la salud mental y el bienestar en el turismo desde la perspectiva de los turistas, residentes y trabajadores del sector turístico.

Actualmente, las investigaciones se centran principalmente en el análisis de la salud mental y el bienestar de los turistas desde la perspectiva de la psicología positiva y la terapia de turismo. Sin embargo, hay una falta de investigación sobre el impacto positivo y los desafíos del desarrollo turístico en la salud mental y el bienestar de los residentes y trabajadores del turismo. Por lo tanto, se requiere un enfoque interdisciplinario para revelar el papel del turismo en la promoción de la salud mental para diferentes partes interesadas. En cuanto a la práctica, se debe explorar activamente la integración de productos y servicios turísticos en el cuidado de la salud mental y diseñar actividades turísticas basadas en los principios de la psicología positiva.

Este estudio ofrece perspectivas sobre el papel del turismo en la promoción de la salud mental y el bienestar. Al proponer rutas teóricas y prácticas para mejorar la salud mental y el bienestar de las partes interesadas en el turismo, este artículo tiene como objetivo contribuir al logro del Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 3 (ODS 3) de las Naciones Unidas.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings on a community-based participatory research project where the authors examined access and ability to use technology, attitudes and perceptions of technology, and COVID-19 and mental health beliefs in the time of COVID-19, among predominantly Hispanic/Latinx farmworker males residing in the US–Mexico border city of El Paso, Texas.

This paper used a qualitative narrative analysis which consisted of in-person interviews in Spanish with male farmworkers (n = 10) between the ages of 49–60 years. This paper applied a research approach designed to engage researchers and community stakeholders as equal partners with the goal of improving practice.

Of the participants, eight reported having a phone and only three reported knowing how to use the internet. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the participants reported living a relatively stress-free life. When the pandemic impacted their community, they reported experiencing heightened anxiety and stress. To relieve stress, all participants used healthy coping strategies (e.g. walking and gardening).

The findings suggest that farmworker males are receptive to obtaining mental health services. In addition, they would benefit from resources highlighting healthy stress coping mechanisms. Due to their limited knowledge of current internet technology, efforts on how to promote and deliver mental health services and resources to farmworkers should be strategic and appropriate.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to the displacement of many Ukrainians. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between their contact with Dutch society and their mental health. To this end, 136 adult, mostly female, displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands participated in an online survey to investigate the relationship between quality of host national contact and mental health, as moderated by quantity of host national contact. The survey had a Ukrainian, Russian and English version, and it consisted of single questions assessing various variables, including quality of host national contact, quantity of host national contact, amount of discrimination/prejudice as well as five questions assessing mental health (Mental Health Inventory 5 [MHI-5]; Berwick et al., 1991). Contrary to the hypotheses, no interaction was found between quality of host national contact and quantity of host national contact, and quality of host national contact did not have a significant main effect on mental health. However, there is a significant, yet nonlinear main effect of quantity of host national contact on mental health. Moreover, there is a significant correlation between quality of host national contact and quantity of host national contact. Finally, and interestingly, there is a positive relationship between the amount of discrimination/prejudice and mental health among people who chose to fill out the Ukrainian version of the survey. These results provide a nuanced view of the relationship between the host environment and mental health, and governmental policies should take into account the complexity of this relationship.

A total of 161 displaced, mostly female (90.40%), Ukrainians in the Netherlands with the average age of 35 agreed to participate in this online survey. The main variables measured were mental health (dependent variable), quality of host national contact (independent variable 1) and quantity of host national contact (independent variable 2/moderator). Additional variables, such as the level of perceived discrimination/prejudice, have been included in the analyses. The survey was available in three different languages: Ukrainian, Russian and English.

In this study, the role of host national contact in the mental health of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands was investigated. The results showed that there was no interaction between quality of host national contact and quantity of host national contact in the prediction of mental health. Moreover, quality of host national contact did not predict mental health. Thus, both of the (preregistered) hypotheses of this study were refuted. However, the amount of perceived discrimination/prejudice turned out to be linked to mental health. Surprisingly, the amount of perceived discrimination/prejudice predicted higher mental health scores among participants who chose to fill out the survey in Ukrainian. Moreover, of the respondents included in the analysis, 94.85% gave reason for mental health concerns, as expressed by a converted MHI-5 score below 60.

Even though this study does show a positive relationship between the level of discrimination/prejudice and mental health among displaced Ukrainians who filled out the Ukrainian version of the survey, it does not offer a definite explanation for why this seemingly unexpected result occurred. No causal conclusions can be drawn based on this study regarding the relationship between host national contact and mental health.

The results of this study show that certain occurrences in the contact with host society members relate to mental health in unexpected and seemingly complex ways. This might mean that this study has potential for nuancing the current scientific knowledge regarding the relationship between host national contact and mental health. Such nuances might be quite important, as scientific research often forms the basis for governmental policies aimed at improving the mental health of displaced people. Therefore, governmental policymakers should be aware of the fact that there is no easy, clear-cut answer yet to the complex host society factors that play a role in the mental health of various displaced groups. Moreover, an investigation of the role of host national contact might lead to valuable knowledge about factors that contribute to the mental health of refugees. As has been said, refugees are at risk of developing various mental health issues, so they might need help managing their mental health. To this end, policymakers might need evidence-based information to develop interventions targeted at specific refugee groups. By investigating the mental health of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands, new insights will be gained to optimize mental health care for this particular refugee group.

This study yields important information regarding the degree of participation and inclusion of displaced Ukrainians in Dutch society, which can inform policies targeted at improving the experiences of this new displaced group. Because displaced Ukrainians have to deal with the mental health consequences of war and displacement, they might be particularly in need of a safe haven in which they feel included.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study in which the role of the host society context in the mental health of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands is assessed. The results are quite unexpected and can nuance the current research on the link between discrimination and mental health. Moreover, this study can inspire future research to be conducted in the reasons behind this nuance, by researching the role of identity and uncertainty. Also, the author believes that this study is particularly suitable for this journal because it really looks at the link between social inclusion in the Dutch context and mental health outcomes.

Data from different countries suggest a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression and suicides among manual and trade workers in the construction industry than in the general population. The present review examines the causes and effects of poor mental health and the effectiveness of interventions to improve manual and trade workers' mental health in the construction industry. It also identifies gaps in research and makes several suggestions for practice and future research.

A systematic literature review was conducted to examine and consolidate evidence reported in 54 relevant journal articles published between 2010 and 2021 on the mental health of manual and trade workers.

Three major themes emerged in the review of the 54 journal articles: causes of poor mental health, effects of poor mental health and interventions to improve mental health. The leading causes of poor mental health among construction manual and trade workers are poor work-life balance, high job demand, poor cultural norms and mental health stigma, chronic bodily pain, lack of social support, workplace injustice and job insecurity. The prominent effects of poor mental health are suicidality, drug and alcohol addiction, poor workplace safety and poor work performance. Moreover, the study found that some of the strategies recently implemented in the construction industry to improve mental health are deemed ineffective, or their effectiveness remains inconclusive.

The review's scope is limited to research on manual and trade workers, and it did not investigate the mental health of construction professionals and construction management students.

The review provides valuable insights into the causes and effects of poor mental health among manual and trade workers and the effectiveness of mental health interventions in the construction industry.

This scoping review article aimed to systematically search the literature on the use, purpose and barriers of information and communication technology (ICT) for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) older adults in the host country. The review also conducted a search for literature on programs that aim to develop digital literacy skills for CALD older adults.

A scoping review approach was utilized to identify and search the available literature, and to map the key concepts. A total of 23 relevant articles were included following a systematic search across seven databases.

The review suggests that CALD older adults use ICT for various purposes, including social interaction, health management, information gathering, immigration, everyday routines and leisure. The barriers faced by these older adults in using ICT encompass fear and limited knowledge, language issues, lack of interest, limited access to technology and health concerns. The existing training programs focus on enhancing self-efficacy and confidence and promoting attitudinal changes toward ICT.

Despite the presence of empirical studies, few scoping or systematic reviews have focused on CALD older adults and technology. Research developments related to the technology use of CALD older adults and associated training programs have been fragmented and sporadic, resulting in gaps in the evidence base. This review fills such a gap to better understand the research status connected to CALD older people’s technology adoption and use.