Help-seeking for mental health services among Afghan Hazara women from refugee backgrounds in South Australia

Abstract

Little is known regarding help-seeking for mental health services within refugee populations, especially for women who may be at higher risk for poor mental health outcomes and face multiple barriers to service access. The participants were eleven Afghan Hazara women (aged 18-60 years) with refugee backgrounds living in Adelaide, South Australia. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine existing formal and informal help-seeking patterns as well as to investigate how Afghan Hazara women conceptualise mental health issues, and whether this influences help-seeking behaviours. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. Findings suggest that women of all ages from the Afghan community may face multiple social and cultural barriers to help-seeking including stigma, differences in cultural conceptualisations of mental health, domestic violence, and language and communication difficulties, and that these may be pronounced for older women. Future research should include the voices of older women in the community – and particularly those with lower levels of English. The study points to key recommendations, including women-only education sessions and English classes with mental health and domestic violence related information, outreach education and mental health teams, incorporating mental health information into religious practices, and mental health services that enhance protective social support networks.