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146957 - resettlement stressors for women of refugee background.pdf (349.75 kB)

Resettlement stressors for women of refugee background resettled in regional Australia

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posted on 2023-05-21, 02:58 authored by Clare HawkesClare Hawkes, Kimberley NorrisKimberley Norris, Joyce, J, Paton, D
Women of Refugee Background (WoRB) have been repeatedly identified as an extremely vulnerable population. Within an Australian context, WoRB are increasingly resettled to nonmetropolitan locations, otherwise known as regional locations. Despite this, to date, no research has focused on the lived experience and challenges associated with the resettlement of WoRB to regional contexts. This study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating the resettlement experience of WoRB resettled in Tasmania—a state in Australia classified as a rural and regional location. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a group of 21 individuals (nine WoRB and 12 service providers). Thematic analysis identified four overarching themes—Communication Barriers and Lack of Fluency in English, Challenges Accessing Everyday Basic Needs, Loss of Connection to Culture of Origin and Inability to Access Mainstream Mental Health Services for Help. Participants also highlighted a number of unique gender-related vulnerabilities experienced during resettlement, which were exacerbated in regional locations due to health services being overstretched and under-resourced. Results of the current study are discussed in regard to policy and practical implications, taking into consideration the unique vulnerabilities experienced by WoRB, which, to date, are often overlooked.

History

Publication title

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Volume

18

Issue

8

Article number

3942

Number

3942

Pagination

1-17

ISSN

1660-4601

Department/School

School of Psychological Sciences

Publisher

MDPI

Place of publication

Switzerland

Rights statement

Copyright 2021 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Mental health

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