dc.contributor.author | Branam, Leah S. | |
dc.contributor.author | Yigit, Ismail | |
dc.contributor.author | Haji, Sipal | |
dc.contributor.author | Clark, Jennifer | |
dc.contributor.author | Perkins, Jessica M. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-02-08T20:11:24Z | |
dc.date.available | 2023-02-08T20:11:24Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023-01-10 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Branam LS, Yigit I, Haji S, Clark J, Perkins JM. Kurdish Refugee Beliefs about Mental Health and Help-Seeking: A Community-Engaged Research Study in Tennessee. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(2):1224. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021224 | en_US |
dc.identifier.other | 1660-4601 | |
dc.identifier.other | PubMed ID36673976 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1803/17986 | |
dc.description | This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Well-Being in Vulnerable Communities | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | Refugee populations exhibit high rates of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and psychological distress, but are less likely to receive care than the general population. Perceptions among the Kurdish refugee community about causes and consequences of mental illness symptoms and perceived barriers to help-seeking are understudied. This community-engaged research study conducted in-depth interviews with Kurdish refugees from Iraq to explore their beliefs about drivers of mental illness and seeking help for mental health. Iterative thematic analysis of transcripts from ten participants indicated four key themes: (1) social network loss due to resettlement causes poor mental health; (2) socioeconomic status loss due to unrecognized professional qualifications puts strain on mental health; (3) social stigma about mental health and fears about disclosure of mental health issues within community and subsequent negative gossip prevent help-seeking; and (4) social interaction may alleviate mental illness symptoms. Overall, Kurdish refugees perceived social factors as major drivers of mental illness symptoms and barriers to help-seeking in their community. However, while participants believed that the general community attitude was against help-seeking, most participants personally expressed support of anyone in their community needing to see a mental health professional. Future research should assess the extent to which perceived community norms differ from aggregated personal help-seeking attitudes and behaviors among Kurdish refugees from Iraq in the United States. | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | This research was supported by the Meharry-Vanderbilt Community Engaged Research Core. Its contents are solely the responsibilities of the authors and do not necessarily represent official views of Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, or Meharry Medical College. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
dc.publisher | International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health | en_US |
dc.rights | Citation: Branam, L.S.; Yigit, I.; Haji,
S.; Clark, J.; Perkins, J.M. Kurdish
Refugee Beliefs about Mental Health
and Help-Seeking: A
Community-Engaged Research Study
in Tennessee. Int. J. Environ. Res.
Public Health 2023, 20, 1224. https://
doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021224
Academic Editors: Lee Smith and
Igor Grabovac
Received: 4 November 2022
Revised: 7 January 2023
Accepted: 9 January 2023
Published: 10 January 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/). | |
dc.source.uri | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1224 | |
dc.subject | refugees | en_US |
dc.subject | mental health | en_US |
dc.subject | community-engaged research | en_US |
dc.title | Kurdish Refugee Beliefs about Mental Health and Help-Seeking: A Community-Engaged Research Study in Tennessee | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.3390/ijerph20021224 | |