This week we
explored the needs of over-seas born people, including migrants and asylum
seekers, and the health issues both groups encounter. We viewed interviews with
Mark, a migrant from South Africa, Asif, an asylum seeker from Pakistan and
Mercy Baafi [Mercy], a migrant and registered nurse/midwife who originates from
Ghana, South Africa. The interviews discussed various issues including the
processes and barriers faced by them in coming and living in Australia,
along with the differences in and their experiences with Australia’s health care system.
My father and his
family migrated from Malta in 1962, having watched him and his family struggle
with various health issues relating to poor language skills and low literacy
levels, this week’s topics helped me to recognise the barriers they have faced.
Asif's story on his experiences as an asylum seeker alerted me to the struggles
they must face every day with uncertainty, despair and the desperation to seek
a better life. Mercy highlighted the importance of simply asking a patient
“what can I do to make your stay more comfortable for you?” and solidified my
thoughts from my previous blog in relation to not presuming a patient’s health
needs based on their culture, religion, race or ethnicity.
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Through my research
I discovered how the mental health needs of migrants and asylum seekers is not
being met by Australia’s health care system. Carrigan (2014)
highlights the various health care needs of asylum seekers and refugees both in
and out of detention centres, however identifies that it is mental health
issues that is impacting most refugees and asylum seekers and that holds the
greatest concern for health professionals (Carrigan, 2014, p. 9). Mental health
services also do not meet the needs of migrants from culturally and
linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds either, resulting in increased
personal suffering, health care costs and chronicity, and negative effects on
the health of carers and other family members (Cross & Singh, 2013, p.
156).
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| Emotion Quote (Quotesgram, 2015) |
By being aware of the various health-related issues of migrants and asylum seekers, the need to be culturally sensitive to the differences in communication practices within cultures along with the cultural differences in illness expression and help-seeking behaviour (Cross and Singh,
2012) I will be able to better my practice as a registered nurse.
References
Australian Human Rights Commission [Photograph]. (2015). Retrieved from
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/asylum-seekers-and-refugees/asylum-seekers-=and-refugees-guide.
Carrigan, C., (2014). Flying
under the radar: The health of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. Australian
Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 21(9), 22. Retrieved from http://www.anf.org.au.ezproxy.cqu.edu.au/.
Cross, W., & Singh, C.
(2012). Dual vulnerabilities: Mental illness in a culturally and linguistically
diverse society. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing
Profession, 42(2), 156-166. doi:10.5172/conu.2012.42.2.156.
Emotion Quote [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from http://quotesgram.com/i-am-a-teen-quotes/#zsjEQRgE9H
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