Experiences of Chinese Migrants Caring for Family Members With Schizophrenia in Australia

Abstract

Little is known about the experience of Chinese migrants to Australia who are caring for a person with schizophrenia. The research was exploratory in nature, providing information on the health, help-seeking behaviors, burden, and caring experiences of Chinese carers of people with schizophrenia in Melbourne. Ethnic Chinese carers of people with schizophrenia were recruited. Health care or social service professionals were also interviewed to understand the context of Chinese migrants in seeking help for mental health problems and caring for someone with psychiatric illness. Recommendations for Chinese migrants facing mental health problems and challenges for social work practice are described.

Wellbeing and experiences of Chinese and Vietnamese carers of people with mental illness in Australia

“…Similar to findings from other Australian CALD caregiving studies (Poon et al., 2015), carers maintained close contact with their relatives with mental illness. More than half of carers had lived in Australia for more than a decade and all of them did not speak English at home, consistent with other Australian CALD studies (Kokanovic et al., 2006; Poon et al., 2013). Despite their diverse needs and poor wellbeing, they had a reasonable understanding of recovery regarding their relatives with mental illness due to their cultural understanding of mental illness and transcultural journey in Australia.…”

“…This is likely due to the lack of relatives in Australia who can share in some caregiving tasks. More importantly, due to cultural values, these carers would likely continue their caring role despite experiencing high levels of caregiving burden (Poon et al., 2013). Their delay in seeking help from formal services will potentially lead to them experiencing poor health and wellbeing.…”

“…However, few studies have investigated the experience of carers of people with mental illness from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Australia (Poon & Lee, 2019). The limited studies show that carers from CALD communities experienced social isolation and psychological distress, faced stigma in the broader society, encountered barriers in seeking help, and language barriers when communicating with mental health professionals (Kokanovic, Petersen, & Klimidis, 2006; Poon, Joubert, & Harvey, 2013; Rooney, Wright, & O'Neil, 2006). In addition, an Australian longitudinal study shows that carers from CALD communities experienced persistent poor health and wellbeing over time (Poon, Joubert, & Harvey, 2015).…”

“…In addition, an Australian longitudinal study shows that carers from CALD communities experienced persistent poor health and wellbeing over time (Poon, Joubert, & Harvey, 2015). Support groups have been reported to be helpful to address social isolation for carers of Chinese descent in Australia (Poon et al., 2013). However, it is uncommon to find studies focusing on carers from CALD communities who are attending support groups to understand their needs, knowledge of recovery, perception towards social groups, and cultural and transcultural factors influencing their caregiving journey.…”

Experiences of Family Burden in Caring for the Severely Mentally Ill in a Foreign Land: A Qualitative Study of Chinese Immigrant Families in Toronto, Canada

“…Chinese cultural heritage generally places enormous value on the family and sees it as the building block of a healthy society, and families are expected to take on the responsibility of caring for its members. In turn, the family's caring ability reflects the health and respectability of the family (Poon & Harvey, 2013;Hong & Domokos-Cheng Ham, 2000;Wong, Tsui, Pearson, Chen, & Chiu, 2004). These ideals may be generally perceived as positive, but can also negatively affect both the patient, in their feeling of having failed to achieve normalcy, and the care giver, in their feeling of having inadequately cared for the ill (Hsiao, Klimidis, Minas, & Tan, 2006;Sun, 2014).…”