An evaluation of a mental health literacy course for Arabic speaking religious and community leaders in Australia: effects on posttraumatic stress disorder related knowledge, attitudes and help-seeking

Abstract

Background: Australia is an ethnically diverse nation with one of the largest refugee resettlement programs worldwide, including high numbers of refugees with an Arabic speaking background. Evidence suggests that refugees can demonstrate high levels of psychological distress and are at a higher risk of developing mental illness such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Notwithstanding, research has also shown Arabic speaking refugees have lower levels of professional help-seeking behaviours, postulated to be related to mental health literacy levels. Methods: A culturally sensitive mental health literacy (MHL) training program was developed and delivered in Arabic to Arabic speaking religious and community leaders using a 1-day training workshop format. An uncontrolled pre-, and post study design was used to provide a preliminary evaluation of improvement in PTSD-related knowledge, attitudes and help-seeking measures. Results: A total of 54 adults were trained, with 52 completing the pre-and post-intervention questionnaire. Significant differences were found post-training in measures such as the ability to recognise mental health problems (p = 0.035) and an increased recognition of the role that medication can play in the treatment of PTSD (p = 0.00). Further, an improvement in negative attitudes such as a desire for social distance (p = 0.042) was noted and participants reported more helpful strategies in line with promoting professional help-seeking following training (p = 0.032). Conclusion: Our findings indicated the training led to an improvement of some measures of MHL. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the MHL program has been tailored for Arabic speaking religious and community leaders; who assist refugees with an Arabic background. By equipping community leaders with the knowledge to better respond to mental health problems, the overall goal of improving the mental health outcomes of Arabic speaking refugee communities is closer to being realised.

Exploring the Use of Hospital and Community Mental Health Services Among Newly Resettled Refugees

“…Instead, lower use may be driven by stigma, ignorance, misidentification or somatization of psychiatric symptoms, ignorance of existing support services and referral chains, use of religious sources of mental health support (including holy books and religious leaders), unwillingness to revisit traumatic memories, and avoidance of emotional discomfort. 19 , 20 Other reasons could be a lack of time and/or financial resources, language and/or cultural barriers, unstable housing, or a lack of trust. 21 A study in Australia 22 reported that two-thirds to one-half of all refugees do not seek help for emotional problems.…”

“…More funding should be directed toward programs to raise levels of mental health literacy among refugees and among religious leaders and priests from whom refugees seek mental health advice. 20 , 26 …”

Mental Illness Stigma and Associated Factors among Arabic-Speaking Religious and Community Leaders

“…The present study is a subset of a dataset evaluating an MHL training course for Arabic-speaking religious and community leaders in South Western Sydney, Australia [42]. A total of 54 participants undertook a 6 h MHL training workshop (see Slewa-Younan and colleagues [42] for an overview of the intervention and power analysis).…”

“…The present study is a subset of a dataset evaluating an MHL training course for Arabic-speaking religious and community leaders in South Western Sydney, Australia [42]. A total of 54 participants undertook a 6 h MHL training workshop (see Slewa-Younan and colleagues [42] for an overview of the intervention and power analysis). Of these individuals, 52 participants completed a self-report survey prior to and immediately following training but this study only utilised the pre-intervention survey responses.…”

Lay causal beliefs about PTSD and cultural correlates in five countries

“…Taking causal beliefs into consideration in mental health care has proven useful at several stages of counselling and treatment (Dinos et al, 2017 ; Petrie & Weinman, 2006 ). Causal beliefs can influence symptom severity (Massad & Hulsey, 2006 ), whether a person seeks treatment (Sheikh & Furnham, 2000 ; Spoont, Sayer, & Nelson, 2005 ), and what kind of treatment is sought (Hinton & Kirmayer, 2013 ; Slewa-Younan et al, 2020 ). Particularly in transcultural settings, but also in general, a sensitive approach to causal beliefs is the basis for effective interventions, as patient satisfaction and treatment effectiveness increase when patient and practitioner concur about a model (Benish, Quintana, & Wampold, 2011 ; Callan & Littlewood, 1998 ).…”