Victorian Refugee Health Network E-bulletin March 2010 The Victorian Refugee Health Network brings together health, settlement and community services to be more accessible and responsive to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers. News and Events 1. Special Feature: The Refugee Service Coordination Forum for the West was a successful event held in late March at Sunshine Golf Club. The forum was well attended by a broad range of health & wellbeing services, with 70 participants representing 30 organisations. Excellent guest presentations from Prof. Mike Toole, Lindy Marlow, Than Myint and Mador Thou helped set the scene & attendees were entertained by the Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health (CEH) Hip Hop & Health Group to finish the day. The forum provided an opportunity to review previous work as well as pick up on current issues. One of the key outcomes from the Forum were a range of agreed actions for improved service coordination identified in working groups focused on the following priority areas: General Practice Engagement & Support; Maternal & Child Health; Access to Specialist Services; Mental Health & Counselling; and Housing & Settlement Support. Strengthened partnerships between organisations and capacity building through training for both providers and community were important areas identified for future work. For more information, please contact Joanna Noesgaard at HealthWest Partnership Ph. 03 9313 5080 or email Jo.HealthWest@isispc.com.au 2. Young African men’s project: The Centre for Multicultural Youth is looking for participants to take part in a youth-led project for young African men who want to make positive work and life changes. The program is targeted at young men with an African background, aged between 16 and 25, who have been in Australia for 1-7 years; have had contact with police; are disengaged or at risk of becoming disengaged from education, training and employment. For more information contact Girma Seid, Ph. 03 9091 8232 or email gseid@cmy.net.au. For promotional brochure click here. Resources 5. Foundation House's Course for Counsellors has recently been endorsed by the Australian Psychological Society (APS). The course will attract 14 Specialist Professional Development points for members of the following APS College: Clinical & Counselling. Members of other APS Colleges and non-College members may claim the equivalent generalist points. The next course will run on May 6th and 13th. For further information click here. For registration form click here. Research/Reports 6. Screening Practices for Infectious Diseases among Burmese Refugees in Australia by Chaves, Gibney, Leder, O'Brien, Marshall & Biggs, in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol.15, No 11, (Nov 2009). Increasing numbers of refugees from Burma (Myanmar) are resettling in Western countries. A retrospective study was performed of 156 Burmese refugees at an Australian teaching hospital. Of those tested, Helicobacter pylori infection affected 80%, latent tuberculosis 70%, vitamin D deficiency 37%, and strongyloidiasis 26%. Treating these diseases can prevent long-term illness. For full article click here. 7. Understanding the mental health and wellbeing of Afghan women in south east Melbourne. This study was undertaken by Angela Rintoul, in conjunction with the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture. This research explores and documents issues contributing to poor mental health and wellbeing among women of childbearing age and their families. The study identifies a number of strategies and adaptations to existing services that could be developed in order to address this problem. To view full text version of research click here. 8. Economic, civic and social contributions of refugees and humanitarian entrants: a literature review, by Refugee Council of Australia. This report highlights the entrepreneurial spirit and a strong commitment to education and volunteerism brought to Australia by the 740,000 refugee and humanitarian migrants settled since Federation. For full text article click here. 9. Help-seeking for Mental Health Problems in Young Refugees: A Review of the Literature with Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research, by Anstiss, Ziaian, Procter, Warland & Baghurst in Transcultural Psychiatry, Vol. 46, No. 4, 584-607 (2009). An emerging child and adolescent help-seeking literature consistently reports widespread underutilization of mental health services by children in the general population. Current research and opinion suggest a similar trend for refugee and other ethnic minority children. For full abstract click here. 10. Mental Health Among Persons Awaiting an Asylum Outcome in Western Countries: A Literature Review, by Ryan, Kelly & Kelly in International Journal of Mental Health, Volume 38, Number 3, pg 88 – 111, (Fall 2009). Asylum seekers are among the most marginalized and powerless groups in Western societies. Unlike persons with refugee status, asylum seekers live with the constant fear of deportation. They are generally denied access to work, private accommodation, education, and regular social welfare benefits. These harsh post-migration living conditions place asylum seekers at risk for poor mental health. This article reviews the empirical literature on asylum seeker mental health from the last 20 years. It focuses on non-detained adults awaiting an asylum outcome in Western countries. For full abstract click here. Remindes:
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