Pauline Guerin

Physical Activity Programs for Refugee Somali Women: Working Out in a New Country

ABSTRACT 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. At the request of women in the local Somali community, a number of initiatives were taken to increase their opportunities for physical activity. Through interviews, observations and conversations we explored barriers to fitness and exercise, the social, physical, and cultural effects of physical activity, and solutions to facilitate Somali womens access to fitness and exercise opportunities. Physical activity interventions included exercise classes in a community center used by the Somali community, trial memberships at a local women-only fitness center, and walking and sports groups. We discuss the procedural issues relating to setting-up these physical activity opportunities, the results of interviews with 37 of the women about their health and perceptions and issues relating to the physical activity options, and our recommendations for setting up similar classes with other Somali or Islamic communities.

An investigation of culturally competent terminology in healthcare policy finds ambiguity and lack of definition.

Objective : This research explored how the concept of cultural competence was represented and expressed through health policies that were intended to improve the quality and efficacy of healthcare provided to families from culturally marginalised communities, particularly women and children with refugee backgrounds.

Advocacy as a Means to an End: Assisting Refugee Women to Take Control of Their Reproductive Health Needs

SUMMARY 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. This paper presents qualitative and quantitative findings of research with women from refugee backgrounds in Australia (n = 255) and New Zealand (n = 64). The research questions were a combination of community-driven and researcher initiated issues and the projects developed through a continuous iterative process involving feedback from women in the community. We highlight the essential role of advocacy in CBPR and how that can enhance research quality. We argue for the justification of this approach as not only valid and credible but essential in research with these and other communities.

Weddings and parties: Cultural healing in one community of Somali women

Abstract Refugees who are resettled in western countries, particularly Muslim, female, and African refugees, are at a high risk for ‘mental disorders,’ especially when they are then marginalized racially, socially, religiously and economically. In a small city with no specialist services for refugee mental health, a group of Somali refugee women found their own ways to cope with the enormous challenges facing them. In this paper, we describe some of these ways by drawing on many years of ethnographic and participant observation, reflecting specifically on the role of weddings and parties and the embracing of cultural dance, music, and dress on well-being. We aim to show how community-initiated activities can be therapeutic as social approaches to mental health promotion and early intervention. We also discuss how ‘westerners’ and mental health and other professionals can contribute to facilitating this process.

How can country, spirituality, music and arts contribute to Indigenous mental health and wellbeing?

Objective: Mental health and social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) have been linked as outcomes of attachment to country, spirituality, and engagement in music and arts, particularly for Indigenous Australians. It is not clear how this occurs, even though the links seem substantial. Method: We explore how mental health and SEWB may be linked to attachment to country, spirituality, and engagement in music and arts by reviewing literature and presenting examples from our research with Indigenous communities. Rather than abstracting, our goal is to describe specific examples encompassing the rich contextual details needed to understand the factors contributing to mental health and SEWB. Results: While engagement in music is often seen as benefiting mental health because thoughts and feelings can be expressed in less public ways, it can also lead to employment and access to economic and social resources. Attachment to country also shows a plethora of positive outcomes which can contribute to mental health and SEWB even when not explicitly aimed at doing so, such as reducing conflictual situations. Conclusions: We conclude that more detailed, contextual research is required to fully explore the links between creative enterprises and mental health and SEWB outcomes.

Enterprising social wellbeing: social entrepreneurial and strengths based approaches to mental health and wellbeing in “remote” Indigenous community contexts

Objective: Social enterprises are market-based activities that provide social benefits through the direct engagement of people in productive activities. Participation in social enterprise development brings psychosocial wellbeing benefits, by strengthening family networks, enhancing trust, increasing self-reliance and social esteem and promoting cultural safety. Our objective is to explore how social enterprise activities can meet community needs and foster self-sustainability while generating profits for redistribution as social investment into other ventures that aid social functioning and emotional well-being. Conclusions: Social entrepreneurship enhances both interdependence and independence. Concomitant mental health and social wellbeing dividends accrue overtime to communities engaged in self-determined enterprise activities. Social entrepreneurship builds social capital that supports social wellbeing. Strengths-based approaches to social entrepreneurship can assuage disempowering effects of the “welfare economy” through shifting the focus onto productive activities generated on peoples own terms.

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. Ecological modeling enables examination of how public policy at local state and national levels influences the individual and family directly and through the organizations that are given the task of implementing many of the policy recommendations. Recommendations for health practice and research are made.

Reenacted Case Scenarios for Undergraduate Healthcare Students to Illustrate Person-Centered Care in Dementia.

Healthcare practitioners have suggested that interpreting person-centered care for people who have dementia to undergraduate students requires guidance in practical application. This article describes the production of a written and digital interdisciplinary educational resource for tertiary students. It uses real-life case scenarios provided by healthcare practitioners to illustrate person-centered care in practice with people who have dementia. The resource provides students with the theoretical underpinning of person-centered care and dementia as well as reflective questions that relate to the reenacted case scenarios to guide their application of this theory in practice.