Discuss about the Refugees, Asylum Seekers in Australia.
Forced migration leads to the category of people known as refugees and asylum seeker. Several of these people remain housed in the detention centres for several years and this leads to their poor mental health and psychological condition (Kirmayer et al., 2011). The experience undergone by the people as a refugee is a traumatic experience in general, and it is not just limited to the Australian continent. The psychological experiences can have a degrading effect on these refugees in question, which may lead to conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Schweitzer et al., 2011). PTSD is very common among them however; there are several other physical conditions, which affect the refugees and the asylum seekers such as obesity, hypertension, depression, anxiety disorder as well as anaemia (Newman, Proctor & Dudley, 2013). It must not be disregarded that these refugees must be treated with respect and dignity as any human being deserves. This essay outlines the different steps which can be taken in order to curb the mental problems that the refugees and the asylum seekers face in Australia. The proposed solutions are not only limited to the Australian context, but also can be applied in the global aspect.
The challenge, which is faced by the health workers in dealing with the refugees and the asylum seekers in Australia, can be overcome by taking into accordance several steps. However, before the essay delves deeper into it, a basic difficulty faced by the health workers needs a mention and that is the communication gap (Suurmond et al., 2010). These migrants are most of the times not native speakers of English, and their cultural beliefs too is not alike. It becomes tricky to comprehend most of the times to diagnose the health issues they might be facing and due to difference in their cultures; sometimes it becomes equally demanding to impart proper treatment to them (Hadgkiss & Renzaho, 2014). This difficulty can be easily triumphed over by hiring interpreters who would be explaining it to the migrants and the refugees how it works. In certain scenarios, the refugees can be introduced to already settled families of the same culture who have been residing in Australia for some time and thereby equipping the refugees with the necessary guidelines to make through (Henley & Robinson, 2011). As a nurse, the help of trained and efficient interpreters can help in assessing the mental health of the refugees and asylum seeker better. It would result into swifter diagnosis and faster recovery.
Once the language and cultural barrier has been addressed, next come the point where the health workers need to address the psychological status of the refugees by identifying whether they have been exposed to conditions prior to the migration (Zion, Briskman & Loff, 2010). For instance, the refugees can hail from war-ridden parts of the world. Hence, for such people, it would be very common among them to be affected by traumatic stress. The effects of such stress can be result of torture too which they might have faced. Factors such as situation of violence, war even exile can lead to traumatic effects on the asylum seekers and the refugees and hence, they must be identified and paid heed to first (Nickerson et al., 2011). The needs of such people are different and must be catered too by experienced psychiatrists to make sure that they recover faster rather than brood and suffer in isolation. The refugees must be nursed to good health with the help of regular counselling sessions where they can freely communicate about the problems and fears that they are facing. In this way they can grow above their anxiety and embrace the culture of Australia.
Asylum seekers and refugees are placed in detention centres not only in Australia, but also in several other countries across the globe. These detention centres are not equipped to cater to the needs and the harsh conditions that they face, force them into depression (Bauer & Alegria, 2010). Not only depression the stressful condition of the detention centres even leads the inhabitants into committing suicides. Governmental bodies such as Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN), Australian Nursing Federation (ANF), Australian Medical Association (AMA) and several other renowned Australian governmental bodies must make the effort in identifying the needs of these refugees (Green & Eagar, 2010). As a nurse belonging to these governmental bodies, they must be trained to cater to the needs of the refugees. The nurses must be trained to understand the complexity of the situation of these people where they can provide help to them without being discriminating. A holistic approach is appreciable while dealing with the refugees and the asylum seekers. The model of care must be more penetrative in such a situation where even the basic needs of the refuges are paid heed to.
The government must lay stress on developing better resettlement campaigns, which would help the refugees into transitioning smoothly into the normal life of Australia (Dudley et al., 2012). They must be helped to get employment and find a proper place to live where they can access proper health care. The humanitarian groups must monitor their improvements such that the cultural gap can be dissolved sooner and lead to social acceptance among neighbours and fellow employees at the workplace (Newman, 2013). There are several services available for the refugees and asylum seekers, which can provide support to them, namely, ‘Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture’, ‘Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’, ‘Monash Health – Refugee Health Service’, ‘Community Health Counselling’ and several others are there to support the cause of the problems faced by the refugees and the asylum seekers (Johnston, Smith & Roydhouse, 2012). A bond needs to be developed in between the resettlement groups and the mental health service providers. They should pay heed to the idea that a joint effort from their side can only prove to be helpful when it comes to introducing the refugees as well as the asylum seekers into adjusting and adapting to the lifestyle of the foreign land.
The idea of migration to a new place is definitely intimidating especially when everything around one is purely foreign. It becomes difficult for the refugees and the asylum seekers to find jobs and be accepted by the society given the difference in the culture. The society must come forward and try to make the transition of the refugees into future fellow citizens of the state, into a comfortable one. Children and young adolescents are the ones amongst the refugees and the asylum seekers that are affected the most. Most of the times these children are not assisted by their parents and a disturbed childhood like theirs make them more prone to developing a tendency of self-harm. Care must be taken to make sure that these children are soon put into Childcare based bodies which can cater better to their needs rather than allowing them to fend on their own. With the help of proper and adequate support as well as assistance, the refuges can lead a better life and not inflict self-harm due to the discrimination that they face in the new land. A sense of belongingness must be developed among them and the responsibility solely lies on the shoulder of the society.
References:
Bauer, A. M., & Alegría, M. (2010). Impact of patient language proficiency and interpreter service use on the quality of psychiatric care: a systematic review. Psychiatric Services, 61(8), 765-773.
Dudley, M., Steel, Z., Mares, S., & Newman, L. (2012). Children and young people in immigration detention. Current opinion in psychiatry, 25(4), 285-292.
Green, J. P., & Eagar, K. (2010). The health of people in Australian immigration detention centres. Med J Aust, 192(2), 65-70.
Hadgkiss, E. J., & Renzaho, A. M. (2014). The physical health status, service utilisation and barriers to accessing care for asylum seekers residing in the community: a systematic review of the literature. Australian Health Review, 38(2), 142-159.
Henley, J., & Robinson, J. (2011). Mental health issues among refugee children and adolescents. Clinical Psychologist, 15(2), 51-62.
Johnston, V., Smith, L., & Roydhouse, H. (2012). The health of newly arrived refugees to the Top End of Australia: results of a clinical audit at the Darwin Refugee Health Service. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 18(3), 242-247.
Kirmayer, L. J., Narasiah, L., Munoz, M., Rashid, M., Ryder, A. G., Guzder, J., … & Pottie, K. (2011). Common mental health problems in immigrants and refugees: general approach in primary care. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 183(12), E959-E967.
Newman, L. (2013). Seeking asylum—trauma, mental health, and human rights: An Australian perspective. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 14(2), 213-223.
Newman, L., Proctor, N., & Dudley, M. (2013). Seeking asylum in Australia: immigration detention, human rights and mental health care. Australasian Psychiatry, 21(4), 315-320.
Nickerson, A., Bryant, R. A., Silove, D., & Steel, Z. (2011). A critical review of psychological treatments of posttraumatic stress disorder in refugees. Clinical psychology review, 31(3), 399-417.
Schweitzer, R. D., Brough, M., Vromans, L., & Asic-Kobe, M. (2011). Mental health of newly arrived Burmese refugees in Australia: contributions of pre-migration and post-migration experience. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 45(4), 299-307.
Suurmond, J., Seeleman, C., Rupp, I., Goosen, S., & Stronks, K. (2010). Cultural competence among nurse practitioners working with asylum seekers. Nurse education today, 30(8), 821-826.
Zion, D., Briskman, L., & Loff, B. (2010). Returning to history: The ethics of researching asylum seeker health in Australia. The American Journal of Bioethics, 10(2), 48-56.
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