Gender, Mental Health Stigma, and Help-Seeking in Arabic- and Swahili-Speaking Communities in Australia.

Australia is an ethnically diverse nation with large numbers of migrants and refugees entering the country yearly. Despite research demonstrating that individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities experience an elevated risk of developing a mental illness, mental health services uptake is consistently low. To improve the mental health outcomes of these CaLD individuals in Australia, there is an urgent need to understand barriers to treatment, such as stigma.

A mixed methods systematic review of mental health self-care strategies for Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants.

Background: Self-care strategies can improve mental health and wellbeing, however, the evidence on preferred strategies among Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants is unclear. This mixed methods systematic review aimed to identify and synthesise the global research on mental health self-care strategies used by these populations.

Methods: English and Arabic language studies reporting on positive mental health self-care strategies to address symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety and depression in the target populations were identified by systematically searching eight electronic databases and grey literature.

"It Is Definitely a Good Program for Everyone from Every Community": A Qualitative Study of Community Partner Perspectives on the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Mindfulness Program.

Meeting the health needs of migrant and refugee communities is crucial to successful settlement and integration. These communities are often under-served by mental health services. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of a group mindfulness-based intervention tailored for Arabic and Bangla speakers living in Sydney, Australia.

The Availability, Appropriateness, and Integration of Services to Promote Indigenous Australian Youth Wellbeing and Mental Health: Indigenous Youth and Service Provider Perspectives.

Concerns about the complexity, fragmentation and inefficiency of Australia's current youth mental health service systems have led policy makers to seek improvements through a shift to community-based solutions. However, there is little evidence of how communities can make this shift. This paper examines the efforts of one Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter, respectfully, Indigenous) community-Yarrabah in north Queensland-to develop strategies for mental health and wellbeing service system improvements for school-aged youth (5-18 years).

Conceptualisations of mental illness and stigma in Congolese, Arabic-speaking and Mandarin-speaking communities: a qualitative study.

Background: Australia is an ethnically diverse nation. Research has demonstrated an elevated risk of developing a mental illness in culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities yet uptake of mental health services is low. To improve mental health treatment seeking and outcomes for CaLD individuals in Australia there is an urgent need to deeply understand barriers to treatment such as stigma.

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

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.

A framework for preferred practices in conducting culturally competent health research in a multicultural society.

Background: Improving the health and well-being of the whole population requires that health inequities be addressed. In an era of unprecedented international migration, meeting the health care needs of growing multicultural or multiethnic societies presents major challenges for health care systems and for health researchers. Considerable literature exists on the methodological and ethical difficulties of conducting research in a cross-cultural context; however, there is a need for a framework to guide health research in multicultural societies.

Systems integration to promote the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: protocol for a community-driven continuous quality improvement approach.

Background: Systems integration to promote the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children works towards developing a spectrum of effective, community-based services and supports. These services and supports are organised into a coordinated network, build meaningful partnerships with families and address their cultural and linguistic needs, to help children to function better at home, in school, in the community, and throughout life. This study is conducted in partnership with primary healthcare (PHC) and other services in three diverse Indigenous Australian communities.

Understanding the needs of local youth to inform drug and alcohol prevention and harm reduction services: A qualitative study.

Issue Addressed: Reducing drug and alcohol harm is a public health priority and the Australian government has adopted a harm minimisation approach to policy. Understanding the needs of local youth is necessary for the design of relevant prevention and harm reduction services.

Methods: Using 5 unstructured focus groups and 10 interviews involving 30 participants recruited from different settings, this study explored youth perspectives around alcohol and other drugs and the psychosocial factors that influence their substance use.

Integration of traditional and western treatment approaches in mental health care in Pacific Island Countries.

Objective: To explore the extent of integration of traditional and western approaches in mental health care in Pacific Island Countries (PICs).

Method: Examination of national mental health policies and literature review.

Results: Traditional healers were included as resources for mental health in four of the seven policies that we were able to access.

Evaluation of the acceptability and clinical utility of an Arabic-language mindfulness CD in an Australian community setting.

The cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity of Australia's population presents challenges for mental health service delivery. Arabic-speaking communities in Australia underutilise mental health services despite high levels of trauma and psychological distress. Clinicians who work with this population lack linguistically and culturally appropriate clinical resources.

Integration of Indigenous healing practices with western biomedicine in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America: a scoping review protocol.

This scoping review aims to explore the following questions.

Interventions to improve access to cataract surgical services and their impact on equity in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the prevalence is inequitably distributed between and within countries. Interventions have been undertaken to improve cataract surgical services, however, the effectiveness of these interventions on promoting equity is not known.

Objectives: To assess the effects on equity of interventions to improve access to cataract services for populations with cataract blindness (and visual impairment) in LMICs.

Beyond diagnosis and survivorship: findings from a mixed-methods study of a community-based cancer support service.

This consumer-led research investigated the client experiences and the individual and community benefits of a community-based cancer support service operating in a regional setting. The study included cross-sectional surveys, focus group discussions and key-informant interviews. In total, 114 clients, 28 carers and 20 therapists were surveyed; three client focus groups were conducted and five directors and staff were interviewed.

Psychological Distress in Iranian International Students at an Australian University.

This study investigated psychological distress in Iranian international students at UNSW Australia, and explored the psychosocial factors associated with high levels of distress. A total of 180 Iranian international students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees during 2012/2013 completed an email questionnaire containing socio-demographic items and five standardized and validated scales. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyse the predictors of psychological distress.

Realisation of a joint consumer engagement strategy in the Nepean Blue Mountains region.

Ensuring consumer engagement at different levels of the health system - direct care, organisational design and governance and policy - has become a strategic priority. This case study explored, through interviews with six purposively selected 'insiders' and document review, how one Medicare Local (now a Primary Health Network, PHN) and Local Health District worked together with consumers, to establish a common consumer engagement structure and mechanisms to support locally responsive, integrated and consumer-centred services. The two healthcare organisations worked as partners across the health system, sharing ownership and responsibility.

Equity and Blindness: Closing Evidence Gaps to Support Universal Eye Health.

Purpose: The World Health Organization Program for the Prevention of Blindness adopted the principles of universal health coverage (UHC) in its latest plan, Universal Eye Health: A Global Action Plan, 2014-2019. This plan builds on the achievements of Vision 2020, which aimed to reduce the global prevalence of avoidable blindness, and its unequal distribution, by the year 2020.

Methods: We reviewed the literature on health equity and the generation and use of evidence to promote equity, particularly in eye health.

A decade of peace: Mental health issues and service developments in the Solomon Islands since 2003.

Objective: To describe the impact on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of the armed conflict that occurred in the Solomon Islands from 1998-2003 and the subsequent political unrest and natural disasters, and the developments in mental health services since 2003.

Method: A literature and document review was conducted, supplemented by the written reflections of senior staff in the Solomon Islands Mental Health Service.

Results: Conflict and natural disaster have had a significant impact on the mental health and functioning of individuals, families and communities.

The value of partnerships: lessons from a multi-site evaluation of a national social and emotional wellbeing program for Indigenous youth.

Objective: To evaluate the first three years of a national program to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous youth in remote and regional Australia.

Methods: Combination of open inquiry and audit review involving investigation of process and outcomes, with a broad national overview supplemented by five in-depth case studies in diverse settings.

Results: Community development principles were applied at all 14 sites.