Mental health and mental health help-seeking behaviors among first-generation voluntary African migrants: A systematic review

Botchway-Commey, Edith N.; Adonteng-Kissi, Obed; Meribe, Nnaemeka; Chisanga, David; Moustafa, Ahmed A.; Tembo, Agness; Baffour, Frank Darkwa; Gatwiri, Kathomi; Doyle, Aunty Kerrie; Mwanri, Lillian; Osuagwu, Uchechukwu Levi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0298634

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 51 publications

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“…Current evidence highlights some of the risk factors unique to the CALD population, including acculturation stress (Hovey, 2000), unemployment, and loneliness (Forte et al, 2018). Seeking help for suicidal thoughts or mental health conditions remains stigmatised for many migrants, and those who do seek help (Botchway-Commey et al, 2024;Wood & Newbold, 2012), do not always find it effective (Minhas, 2013;Dinham, 2020;Darmadi, 2022). Evidence indicates that suicide rates remain stagnant or increasing over time across different migrant groups in Australia (Maheen & King, 2023), with certain CALD groups exhibiting elevated suicide risk parameters (Maheen et al, 2024;Pham et al, 2023;Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic cost of suicide of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Australia

Maheen,

Doran

2024

Preprint

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Background: Suicide and self-harm pose significant global public health challenges and have substantial economic implications. Recent evidence from Australia has indicated significant variations in the prevalence of suicidal behaviours and mortality among diverse populations. Aim: This study aims to examine the economic cost of suicide among culturally and linguis-tically diverse (CALD) migrants in Australia. Methods: We evaluated the economic impact of suicide by considering years of life lost, years of productive life lost, and overall economic costs, including direct, indirect, and intan-gible costs. We used data on suicide deaths in 2020 from the National Coroners Information System. Results: The estimated annual economic cost of these suicides is $2.9 billion (in 2023 dol-lars). The average cost per suicide is $8.04 million for males and $9.23 million for females. The value of a statistical life year is the most significant cost driver, representing 94% of the total economic burden. Limitation: These estimates do not capture costs associated with suicidal ideation, thoughts or self-harm attempts, which may substantially increase the economic burden. Conclusion: This study emphasises the significant economic impacts of CALD suicide in Aust-ralia and highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive national suicide prevention pro-gram tailored for diverse populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic cost of suicide of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Australia

Maheen,

Doran

2024

Preprint

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Profiles of clinical service use for suicide ideation and suicide attempts across Australian cultural and linguistic groups: A latent class analysis using data from the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (2020-2022)

Rajaram,

Robinson,

Witt

2024

Preprint

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Background Suicide ideation and suicide attempts represent a public health problem in Australia, for which most people do not seek formal clinical care. However, little research currently exists on the prevalence of STB within the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community, and whether the help-seeking behaviours of CALD persons differs from non-CALD persons.Methods This is a secondary analysis of data from the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, which surveyed a representative sample of Australian residents aged 16–85 years (N = 15,882) between December 2020 and October 2022. The prevalence of lifetime suicide ideation and suicide attempts by region of birth were calculated, and latent class analysis was used to examine patterns in both formal and informal help-seeking for both suicide ideation and suicide attempts separately. Logistic regression models were used to identify and quantify associations between region of birth and likelihood of class membership.Results Of the sample, 2602 (16.4%) reported suicide ideation and 753 (4.8%) people reported a suicide attempt. The prevalence of both was generally higher in the Australian-born population (18.3%), and lowest in people born in South Asia (5.9%). Most people reported no, or limited, use of clinical services for suicide ideation (76%) or suicide attempt (60%). People born in East Asia and the Pacific or Sub-Saharan Africa were 55% less likely and 70% less likely, respectively, to seek help from clinical services for suicide ideation compared to Australian-born people. People with moderate English proficiency were 92% less likely than people with native English proficiency to seek help from clinical services following a suicide attempt.Conclusions Most people in this sample were did not use clinical services for suicide ideation or suicide attempts. This is particularly so for persons born in East Asia and the Pacific or Sub-Saharan Africa. There is a need to understand and address social and cultural factors which may prevent people from these regions from engaging with clinical services. The CALD population in general may benefit from enhanced cultural responsiveness from clinical services, including the use of bicultural support workers and interpreters to improve help-seeking from clinical services.

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Mental health and mental health help-seeking behaviors among first-generation voluntary African migrants: A systematic review

Cited by 2 publications

References 51 publications

Economic cost of suicide of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Australia

Economic cost of suicide of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Australia

Profiles of clinical service use for suicide ideation and suicide attempts across Australian cultural and linguistic groups: A latent class analysis using data from the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (2020-2022)

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