Refugees experience traumatic life events with impacts amplified in regional and rural areas due to barriers accessing services. This study examined the factors influencing the lived experience of resettlement for former refugees in regional Launceston, Australia, including environmental, social, and health-related factors. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with adult and youth community members from Burma, Bhutan, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iran, and Sudan, and essential service providers (n = 31). Thematic analysis revealed four factors as primarily influencing resettlement: English language proficiency; employment, education and housing environments and opportunities; health status and service access; and broader social factors and experiences. Participants suggested strategies to overcome barriers associated with these factors and improve overall quality of life throughout resettlement. These included flexible English language program delivery and employment support, including industry-specific language courses; the provision of interpreters; community events fostering cultural sharing, inclusivity and promoting well-being; and routine inclusion of nondiscriminatory, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed practices throughout a former refugee's environment, including within education, employment, housing and service settings.

Objective:To examine the resettlement experiences of former refugees living in regional Australia, focusing on mental health and mental health and support services, including barriers to access. Design: A phenomenological approach utilising a combination of six qualitative, semi-structured, face-to-face focus groups (n = 24) and seven individual interviews.Data were analysed thematically using NVivo 10 software. Setting: Launceston, Tasmania.Participants: Adult and youth former refugees from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Iran, and essential service providers, residing in Launceston. Main outcome measures:Participants were asked about experiences of resettlement and mental health. Results: Participants reported that their mental health had improved since resettlement; however, major stressors impacted mental health and resettlement included employment and housing access and mastering the English language. Past experiences continued to impact current functioning, with trauma commonly experienced intergenerationally through parenting and attachment and ongoing trauma and feelings of guilt and responsibility experienced with families left behind. Participants noted barriers to accessing services: (a) Language difficulties including lack of interpreters; and (b) lack of culturally sensitive and trauma-informed practices. Discrimination was experienced through the inconsistent provision of interpreters and lack of due consideration of cultural and religious differences. The use of children as interpreters enhanced several risk including miscommunication of medical information, exposure to age-inappropriate information, and the resulting increased risk of trauma for the child. Conclusion: Culturally sensitive, trauma-informed and discrimination-free practices should be employed across services, where Western-views surrounding this medical model are not imposed, cultural differences are respected, and timely access to interpreters provided. |SMITH eT al.

Introduction: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and people with a diversity of sexual and gender identities (LGBTIQ+) residing in rural contexts may face additional challenges to attaining wellbeing, yet a comprehensive understanding of these experiences is lacking. The purpose of the systematic review is to address this knowledge gap. The aims of the review are to progress understanding about rural LGBTIQ+ communities with regard to wellbeing, healthcare access and experience, and barriers and facilitators to health care.Methods: Peer-reviewed literature was searched in PubMed, Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, and PsychInfo databases, while grey literature was searched using Google Advanced Search. Documents produced between 2015 and 2020 in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and UK were eligible and reference lists were screened. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were adhered to. Relevant data were extracted and synthesized. The quality of the peerreviewed literature and grey literature was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and the Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance checklist, respectively. At each stage of the study selection process, a second author reviewed a sample of 10% of the articles and documents to ensure consistent application of the inclusion criteria. Consultation within the team was used to resolve any discrepancies encountered. Results:The 297 unique peer-reviewed returned records were screened, with 69 full texts assessed for eligibility, resulting in the inclusion of 42 articles. The initial result of 2785 grey documents were similarly screened, resulting in the inclusion of 12 documents.Overall, the included literature was deemed to be of good quality. Synthesis of data resulted in the reporting of findings concerning mental, physical, and sexual wellbeing; healthcare access and experiences with care; and barriers and facilitators to health care for various communities in rural areas. The findings showed rural LGBTIQ+ communities shared many of the health concerns of nonrural LGBTIQ+ communities, as well as encountering similar issues and barriers to the receipt of high-quality appropriate care. However, the evidence also indicates an array of nuanced challenges for communities in rural areas such as a lack of available appropriate providers, and financial and practical barriers concerning the need to travel to obtain the services needed. The intersection of rurality and LGBTIQ+ identity was especially pronounced for rural LGBTIQ+ elders facing potential isolation in the context of declining mobility, service providers experiencing high demand and isolation from professional networks, and forLGBTIQ+ populations negotiating the complexities of disclosure in interactions with health professionals. The latter three findings in particular extend on the existing knowledge base. Conclusion:Investment is needed in the design, trialling, and evaluation of tailored models of care, which a...

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