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

Abstract

Key Points Question How do rates of use of community and tertiary mental health services among a representative refugee cohort compare with benchmark rates in a high-income country? Findings This cross-sectional data linkage study of 10 050 refugees in Australia found that resettled refugees used fewer community mental health and hospitalization services overall than the general population. However, service contacts with community mental health services with a primary diagnosis of reaction to severe stress and adjustment disorders were 17% higher than in the general population. Meaning These findings suggest that resettled refugees use fewer mental health services than the general population, except for specific diagnoses.

A Qualitative Inquiry of Older Afghan Refugee Women’s Individual and Sociocultural Factors of Health and Health Care Experiences in the United States

“…Prior research suggests Afghan women associate depression with more somatic symptoms, indicating gendered experiences of mental health (Alemi et al, 2016; Stempel et al, 2016). Refugee populations generally underutilize mental health care (Mazumdar et al, 2022). A study examining the help-seeking behaviors of Afghans identifies factors like more severe level of distress and identifying as female, predicts help-seeking for psychological distress (Alemi et al, 2018).…”

Trends and Impact Factors of Mental Health Service Utilization among Resettled Humanitarian Migrants in Australia: Findings from the BNLA Cohort Study

“…Australia was 1 of the only 29 countries around the world accepting UNHCR submissions in 2020, resettling 7048 refugees (around 8.6% of the worldwide resettled humanitarian migrants) in 2019 [ 3 , 4 ]. Newly resettled humanitarian migrants in Australia have been reported to have serious mental health problems, yet they underutilize mental health services (MHS) [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”