BMC Psychiatry
Volume 14, Issue 1, 2014

Mental health literacy of resettled Iraqi refugees in Australia: Knowledge about posttraumatic stress disorder and beliefs about helpfulness of interventions (Article) (Open Access)

Slewa-Younan S.* , Mond J. , Bussion E. , Mohammad Y. , Uribe Guajardo M.G. , Smith M. , Milosevic D. , Lujic S. , Jorm A.F.
  • a University of Western Sydney, Mental Health, School of Medicine, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • b Macquarie University, Department of Psychology, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • c University of Western Sydney, Mental Health, School of Medicine, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • d University of Western Sydney, Mental Health, School of Medicine, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • e University of Western Sydney, Mental Health, School of Medicine, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • f New South Wales Refugee Health Service, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
  • g Liverpool Hospital, South Western Sydney Local Health District Eastern Campus, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
  • h The University of Western Sydney, Centre for Health Research, School of Medicine, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • i University of Melbourne, Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Abstract

Background: Resettled refugees are a particularly vulnerable group. They have very high levels of mental health problems, in particular, trauma-related disorders, but very low uptake of mental health care. Evidence suggests that poor "mental health literacy", namely, poor knowledge and understanding of the nature and treatment of mental health problems is a major factor in low or inappropriate treatment-seeking among individuals with mental health problems. This study used a culturally adapted Mental Health Literacy Survey method to determine knowledge of, and beliefs about, helpfulness of treatment interventions and providers for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) amongst resettled Iraqi refugees. Methods: 225 resettled Iraqi refugees in Western Sydney attending the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), federally funded English language tuition, were surveyed. A vignette of a fictional character meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD was presented followed by the Mental Health Literacy Survey. PTSD symptomology was measured using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire part IV (HTQ part IV), with Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) used to measure levels of general psychological distress. Results: Only 14.2% of participants labelled the problem as PTSD, with "a problem with fear" being the modal response (41.8%). A total of 84.9% respondents indicated that seeing a psychiatrist would be helpful, followed by reading the Koran or Bible selected by 79.2% of those surveyed. There was some variation in problem recognition and helpfulness of treatment, most notably influenced by the length of resettlement in Australia of the respondents. Conclusions: These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of mental health promotion and treatment programs for resettled refugees and those who work with them. © Slewa-Younan et al.

Author Keywords

Attitudes Iraqi refugees Help-seeking posttraumatic stress disorder Mental health literacy

Index Keywords

refugee Iraqi Australia literature mental health human Refugees psychiatrist statistics and numerical data Iraq ethnology religion procedures Surveys and Questionnaires Humans psychology male female questionnaire Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Article Kessler Psychological Distress Scale major clinical study adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic patient attitude Patient Acceptance of Health Care health literacy Fear attitude to health Harvard Trauma Questionnaire part IV
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84924151146&doi=10.1186%2fs12888-014-0320-x&partnerID=40&md5=fa5c0ddf5894d62093d4afb158aac6f2
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-014-0320-x
ISSN: 1471244X
Cited by: 23
Original Language: English