Mixed and misunderstandings: An exploration of the meaning of racism with maternal, child, and family health nurses in South Australia.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore child and family health nurses' (CaFHNs) understanding of racism.

Background: Despite a growing literature examining racism in health care, few studies have explored health professionals' understanding of racism and how they manage it in practice.

Design: A qualitative descriptive design was employed.

Applying ecological modeling to parenting for Australian refugee families.

Children in families with parents from refugee backgrounds are often viewed as a vulnerable group with increased risks of developing physical or psychological problems. However, there is very little research regarding the strategies that parents might use to parent their children in a new country while they also manage the interrelated challenges of poverty, social isolation, maternal stress, and mental ill health that often go along with resettlement. We explore the application of ecological modeling, specifically at individual, institutional, and policy levels, within an Australian context to critique the factors that shape the development of parenting capacity within refugee families settling in a new Western country.

Body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness among refugee Somali women living in New Zealand.

The purpose of this study was to compare the body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness levels of a sample of refugee Somali women living in New Zealand with normative data. Refugee Somali women were invited to participate in sessions to assess physical fitness and body measurements. Height, bodyweight and waist and hip circumference were measured.

Advocacy as a means to an end: assisting refugee women to take control of their reproductive health needs.

Negotiating reproductive rights is particularly complex for resettling migrant women from refugee backgrounds. In our ongoing work with women who have fled from countries in Africa and the Middle East, and have resettled in Australia and New Zealand, subtleties of discrimination and perceptions of human rights discriminations were revealed through the complex interplay between research and advocacy. Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) has therefore been critical in assisting women to identify their needs and negotiate acceptable solutions with health services.

Physical activity programs for refugee Somali women: working out in a new country.

Islamic refugee women from non-westernized countries face a number of challenges in adapting to their new country, especially when that new country is westernized and is not Islamic. Refugees are primarily women and children, so it is important that women be in their best health because they usually bear the responsibility of caring for each other and children, often in very difficult situations. Maintaining or obtaining good levels of physical activity contributes to good health: mentally, physically and socially.