Australian Journal of Primary Health
Volume 25, Issue 2, 2019, Pages 113-117

Community engagement with refugee-background communities around health: The experience of the Group of 11 (Article)

Peterson P.* , Ali S. , Kenneh A. , Wakefield A.
  • a Mater Misericordiae Brisbane Ltd, Mater Centre for Integrated Care and Innovation, Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia
  • b Mater Misericordiae Brisbane Ltd, Mater Centre for Integrated Care and Innovation, Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia
  • c Mater Misericordiae Brisbane Ltd, Mater Centre for Integrated Care and Innovation, Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia
  • d Mater Misericordiae Brisbane Ltd, Mater Centre for Integrated Care and Innovation, Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia

Abstract

There is a growing population of people from refugee backgrounds settling in Australia. They have often been forced to flee from their homes in violent circumstances and may have spent many years in refugee camps with poor health support. There are multiple barriers to their effective access to health services. Community engagement with this community can be tokenistic and difficult to effect. This paper highlights the importance of developing a meaningful strategy for community engagement that is not 'one-size-fits-all', which is achieved over time. There is a rich resource available to health practitioners if engagement with refugee-background communities is managed according to the set of trauma-informed and structural principles outlined in this paper. © 2019 La Trobe University.

Author Keywords

Refugee health trauma-informed model of engagement consumer engagement

Index Keywords

health service refugee health care system self esteem chronic disease health care policy health literacy health care practice Article medical information attitude to health health practitioner community care human health care access
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85064506238&doi=10.1071%2fPY18139&partnerID=40&md5=55d5dd9e77981f08f07b2240a70b4b92
DOI: 10.1071/PY18139
ISSN: 14487527
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English