Barriers and facilitators affecting mental health service use among migrants and refugees in Australia: a systematic review
Lisa Miosku et al.
Abstract
Migrants, particularly refugees, are at risk of poorer mental health (MH) outcomes than members of host populations. Despite this, migrants and refugees in Australia significantly under-utilise MH services, yet factors preventing or enabling access are poorly understood. This systematic review identified and synthesised barriers to and facilitators of MH service utilisation among migrants and refugees in Australia to inform accessible, culturally-appropriate service development. Six databases (PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL via EBSCO, PubMed and Embase) were searched, identifying 45 studies meeting eligibility criteria. Narrative synthesis identified three overarching themes impacting service use: system-level challenges, MH knowledge, and culture and community. These findings extended extant reviews by demonstrating that these themes are evident across diverse services, organisations and communities and by providing a discussion of group-specific barriers, facilitators and recommendations. Community-based interventions demonstrate potential to overcome multiple barriers simultaneously. Sufficient funding should be allocated to the community services sector to support migrant and refugee MH. What is already known about this topic:Migrants, and in particular refugees, are at risk of poorer mental health than members of host populations.It is unclear whether Australian mental health services are effectively reaching migrants and refugees.Key barriers to and facilitators of mental health service utilisation in the Australian context require illumination. Migrants, and in particular refugees, are at risk of poorer mental health than members of host populations. It is unclear whether Australian mental health services are effectively reaching migrants and refugees. Key barriers to and facilitators of mental health service utilisation in the Australian context require illumination. What this topic adds:Australian mental health services are under-utilised by migrants and refugees.Three overarching themes that impact service use were identified: system-level challenges, mental health knowledge, and culture and community.To overcome barriers, it is recommended that sufficient funding be allocated to the community services sector to support the mental health of migrants and refugees. Australian mental health services are under-utilised by migrants and refugees. Three overarching themes that impact service use were identified: system-level challenges, mental health knowledge, and culture and community. To overcome barriers, it is recommended that sufficient funding be allocated to the community services sector to support the mental health of migrants and refugees.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.