BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Volume 14, Issue 1, 2014

How do Australian maternity and early childhood health services identify and respond to the settlement experience and social context of refugee background families? (Article) (Open Access)

Yelland J.* , Riggs E. , Wahidi S. , Fouladi F. , Casey S. , Szwarc J. , Duell-Piening P. , Chesters D. , Brown S.
  • a Healthy Mothers Healthy Families Research Group, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia, General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
  • b Healthy Mothers Healthy Families Research Group, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia, General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
  • c Healthy Mothers Healthy Families Research Group, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
  • d Healthy Mothers Healthy Families Research Group, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
  • e Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, 4 Gardiner StreetVIC 3056, Australia
  • f Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, 4 Gardiner StreetVIC 3056, Australia
  • g Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, 4 Gardiner StreetVIC 3056, Australia
  • h Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, 4 Gardiner StreetVIC 3056, Australia
  • i Healthy Mothers Healthy Families Research Group, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia, General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia

Abstract

Background: Refugees have poor mental, social and physical health related to experiences of trauma and stresses associated with settlement, however little is known about how refugee families experience maternity and early childhood services. The aim of this study was to explore the responsiveness of health services to the social and mental health of Afghan women and men at the time of having a baby.Method: Participatory methods including community engagement and consultation with the Afghan community and service providers in Melbourne, Australia. Bicultural researchers conducted interviews with Afghan women and men who had recently had a baby. Interviews and focus groups were also conducted with health professionals working in the region.Results: Thirty interviews were conducted with Afghan women and men who had recently had a baby. Thirty-four health professionals participated in an interview or focus group.Afghan women and men reported significant social hardship during the period before and after having a baby in Australia, but were rarely asked about their social health by maternity and early childhood services.Most health professionals recognised that knowledge and understanding of their client's migration history and social circumstances was relevant to the provision of high quality care. However, inquiring about refugee background, and responding to non-clinical needs of refugee families was challenging for many health professionals. Factors that made it more difficult for health professionals to engage with Afghan families in pregnancy included limited understanding of the context of migration, dependency of many Afghan women on their husband for interpreting, short appointments, and the high likelihood of seeing different health professionals at each antenatal visit. Community-based maternal and child health nurses had more scope to work with interpreters, and build relationships with families, providing a stronger foundation for identifying and responding to complex social circumstances.Conclusion: There are significant challenges in providing comprehensive, high quality primary health care for Afghan families accessing Australian maternity and early childhood services. The limited capacity of public maternity services to identify families of refugee background and provide tailored service responses are contributing to inequitable maternal and child health outcomes for families of refugee background. © 2014 Yelland et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Author Keywords

Psychosocial Afghan women and men Early childhood health care Social and mental health inquiry Refugee families Maternity care

Index Keywords

information processing Health Personnel Physician's Role maternal care Afghanistan refugee mental health service Australia health care personnel human Refugees Professional-Patient Relations housing ethnology Social Conditions human relation nurse attitude Nurse's Role Young Adult social status family Humans Adolescent consultation male female Socioeconomic Factors Infant socioeconomics Article physician attitude translating (language) adult Translating midwife health care quality Midwifery Social Environment child health care Child Health Services Australian maternal health service Maternal Health Services health practitioner Afghan Focus Groups early childhood intervention Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84908067296&doi=10.1186%2f1471-2393-14-348&partnerID=40&md5=cf183779405c932695ffb6b9ebb168cd
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2393-14-348
ISSN: 14712393
Cited by: 25
Original Language: English