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Barriers Accessing Mental Health Services Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Immigrant Women in Australia: Policy Implications

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Abstract

Immigrant and refugee women from diverse ethnic backgrounds encounter multiple barriers in accessing mental healthcare in various settings. A systematic review on the prevalence of mental health disorders among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women in Australia documented the following barriers: logistical, language and communication, dissonance between participants and care providers and preference for alternative interventions. This article proposes recommendations for policies to better address the mental health needs of immigrant and refugee women. Key policy recommendations include: support for gender specific research, implementation and evaluation of transcultural policies, cultural responsiveness in service delivery, review of immigration and refugee claims policies and social integration of immigrants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Health Programme, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Yvonne Wohler & Jaya AR Dantas

Authors
  1. Yvonne Wohler
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  2. Jaya AR Dantas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yvonne Wohler.

Ethics declarations

This article is a ‘systematic review’ and as no primary data was collected for the purpose of this review, ethical approval was not required. The review made use of secondary data in the form of published articles. However, the authors adhered to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. The authors worked with honesty and integrity and aimed to accurately represent findings from previous research, promote the truth, and avoid error in the hope that the review findings may lead to changes in policy and practice in relation to mental health among migrant women in Australia. No reviewed articles were fabricated, falsified or misrepresented.

Funding

All expenses incurred during the research conduct and write up were met by the authors. No external funding was received.

Conflict of interest

The authors disclose no potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

This is to certify that this article has not been published and is not under publication elsewhere. The corresponding author developed the idea for the review, designed the methods and conducted, the analysis and undertook the preparation of the manuscript. The second author provided ongoing advice and guidance and commented on the review and manuscript. Both authors reviewed and approved the manuscript for submission.

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Wohler, Y., Dantas, J.A. Barriers Accessing Mental Health Services Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Immigrant Women in Australia: Policy Implications. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 697–701 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0402-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0402-6

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