Melbourne School of Health Sciences Collected Works - Research Publications
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ItemWhiteness, Religious Diversity and Relational Belonging: Opportunities and Challenges for African Migrants in Australia(Equinox Publishing, 2021)African communities in Australia reflect the rich cultural and religious diversity of the African continent. Despite their persistence and agency, many members from these communities continue to experience a ‘fractured belonging’ due to persistent issues of racism and exclusion; issues that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Religious community groups and organizations have long played important roles in assisting new migrants with settlement and belonging in Australia, including African migrants. This article presents preliminary findings from an Australian Research Council project on religious diversity and social cohesion, drawing on census data and interviews with African-Australian community and religious leaders in Melbourne and Hobart, from Mauritian, Ghanaian, Ethiopian, Somalian and South Sudanese communities. It explores the roles that religion and spirituality play in both addressing and perpetuating issues of racism, trauma and displacement. It also examines the development of ‘relational belonging’ and diverse, complex and dynamic identities among African migrants in contemporary Australia. It argues the case for retelling the history of African migration to Australia, to subvert the myth of a white Christian nation that excludes non-white Australians. It centres African migrants’ lived experience narratives and theories of belonging developed by African scholars to counter narrow and negative stereotypes perpetuated by political and media discourses.
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ItemChallenges of Unemployment and Benefits of Employment for South Sudanese People from Refugee Backgrounds in Melbourne, Australia(IJCAR, 2017-04)Settlement of people from refugee backgrounds has been largely discussed in Australia because of critical social issues affecting the integration of newly emerged community such as the South Sudanese community. This research paper has taken one-step back to at looks the benefits of employment in settlement context of refugees using the case study of the South Sudanese community in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of this research was to provide an understanding of the benefits of employment on different forms of capitals that can assist refugees to overcome settlement challenges. These five capitals or benefits are economic capital, social capital, the cultural and psychological capital. This research was conducted through in-depth interviews with 20 participants from the South Sudanese community in Melbourne, Australia with refugee backgrounds. Participants were given taken the time to tell their settlement experiences, the level of participation in employment and benefits of employment to them and their families with duration range between 45 minutes to 60 minutes. Major findings confirmed that participation of refugees in employment assists them to access important benefits of economic capital, social capital, cultural and psychological capital, which they can accumulate through employment.
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ItemTeaching resilience skills to social work students and others(National Association of Social Workers-Zimbabwe, 2020)Social work as a profession is a growing area in many Indigenous community groups around the world. Students who choose to study social work have some strong voices and commitments to serve vulnerable families, individuals and community groups that are facing some social, health and political issues. Building resilience resources and skills for social work students who are studying social work course is part of the social work roles. In real life, social issues and health issues challenged many people in different levels which caused emotional challenges, feeling of uncertain and helpless. Therefore, teaching resilience skills to social work students is very important in order for students to be well-prepared and managed complex issues of their clients in the field of social work such as emotional reaction of clients and work pressures. This paper is a literature review of resilience that used Ubuntu concept from African Indigenous perspective in humanity and community. The paper first provided introduction of Ubuntu philosophy to reader. Second, the paper provided background of the research problem, which is the need of resilience skills in social work teaching. Finally, the paper summarised resilience skills that are suitable to social work practitioners, social work students and social work lecturers in their field of practice to support their clients and themselves while dealing with complex and emotional issues in the fields.
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ItemMental health and the role of social workers and community workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) period(Institute of Development Administration, 2021)Social workers play a significant role in supporting vulnerable families and individuals during difficult time. Social work as a profession is a frontline occupation that is forced to deal with the complex and difficult issues of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Lockdown, self-isolation, the loss of loved ones, the loss of work, and dealing with family issues and children while working at home are emotionally challenging for many. This virus has raised high levels of anxiety, fear, confusion, frustration, hopeless and uncertainty feelings among many people internationally. Many people were isolated from their families and friends as well as from community. Governments in many countries brought in health measures to control the spread of coronavirus. These measures included quarantine, lockdown, social distancing/physical distancing, isolation, travel restrictions, masks, ventilators, respirators, personal protective clothing (PPE), online/remote services, containment, mitigation, sanitisers, flattening the curve, inflammatory syndrome and herbal/organic treatments. In addition to the loss of social connection, the loss of livelihoods and income are psychologically torturing. There were many lives lost because of coronavirus around the world how many. The impacts of coronavirus have been felt across the health, economic, social, and mental health sectors. Social workers were viewed first people to support people while they were going through difficulties. The situation analysis of emergency lockdown in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia demonstrated role of social workers in supporting vulnerable individuals and families during difficult time. The study shows serious impact of lockdown such as mental health, social and economic consequences on people. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown was clearly observed in relation to mental health, social and economic impacts on people. Many residents were psychological impacted and found themselves in tears, frustration, enraged, powerless, hopeless with lack of support. This analysis argues that social workers should be prepared and supported with enough resources to support people during emergency situations. Therefore, the role of social workers and community development workers is very critical in supporting and preparing vulnerable community groups, individuals, and families to cope with emergency events when they emerge. The case example of the COVID-19 emergency lockdown is the lockdown of high-rise towers in the city of Melbourne in Australia. Many people have been seeking support from social workers for emotional support as they are enraged and frustrated by the lockdown.
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ItemAn exploration of interventions for healing intergeneration trauma to develop successful healing programs for Aboriginal Australians: A literature review(Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin, 2020)Introduction Health outcomes and life expectancy of Indigenous people throughout the world are far poorer than non-Indigenous populations. Emerging evidence from research shows that many social issues which impact on Indigenous peoples globally is linked to trauma over generations. This review explores literature about Indigenous people from around the world to seek interventions which have been successful in healing intergenerational trauma. Method To identify interventions that have been successful in healing intergenerational trauma amongst Indigenous populations globally, a systematic search strategy was conducted using keywords and synonyms related to the topic. Peer reviewed academic literature was sourced from four different databases i.e. Ebscohost, PubMed, CINAHL and Medline. Results There were 89 citations, 55 were identified as relevant, after duplicate copies were removed. Of these 55 papers, 23 met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Two additional papers from a reference lists were included and a total of 25 papers were analysed. A comprehensive critical appraisal of the literature was undertaken using three different appraisal tools. This review found that interventions which were successful in healing intergenerational trauma amongst Indigenous populations incorporated traditional cultural practices within their healing method(s). Discussion There was strong evidence that strengthening and reclaiming cultural identity enhances mental health disorders commonly experienced throughout Indigenous populations. Often non-Indigenous clinicians, although well intentioned, fail to address the needs of Indigenous people because they lack the understanding and awareness of Indigenous people’s culture. This review highlights benefits of blending Indigenous and Western approaches into healing intergenerational trauma and the concept of ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’. This concept acknowledges that each of our worlds has its strengths and if we respectfully and methodically accept these strengths, they can work together and effectively to bring about healing. Conclusion Healing from intergenerational trauma is not a straightforward process. Incorporating traditional healing methods assists in the development of cultural identity, which was found to be extremely important in the healing process. To address trauma effectively, clinicians need to acknowledge the historical impact from public policies by having a real understanding of our history.
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ItemSystemic vilification and racism are affecting on the South Sudanese community in Australia(International Journal of Scientific Research (IJSR), 2018)This paper presents qualitative research findings in relation to the systemic racism and racial vilification issues facing people from the South Sudanese community in Melbourne, Australia. The paper is drawn from a PhD study at Victoria University in which 20 participants were interviewed about settlement issues facing their community. Racism and discrimination is one of the themes that emerged as a problem facing people from the South Sudanese community, including in the employment sector and in schools, because of negative media reporting on this community. This racism and racial verification has been identified in research context as unfair in which some of these research argues for how members of the South Sudanese and recent African communities have become part of a broader system of racism and racialisation in Australia (Ang & Stratton 2001; Baak 2016; Due 2008; Majavu 2017; Walton et al. 2016). The impact of racial vilification has been largely felt by African community groups in public places such as schools, shopping centres, and bus and train stations. The comments made by politicians such as Peter Dutton have promoted hatred and encouraged a great deal of racism toward the South Sudanese community and other African groups, such as the Somalian community. There is no doubt that Australia is a fair-go country, but it has an interesting record about racism and discrimination toward minor groups such as African communities and the Aboriginal community. Racial vilification can be a damaging issue for young people and for minority community groups if there are no policies in places to protect them from such vilification (Baak, 2018).
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ItemBenefits of participation in sport for people from refugee backgrounds: A study of the South Sudanese community in Melbourne, Australia(Journal issue, 2016-02-01)Participation in sport provides different forms of capital for all, but particularly for those with refugee backgrounds who are facing settlement issues. Such people are caught in a challenging situation of dealing with settlement issues such as homesickness, cultural shock, lack of a background of social activities and networks, lack of employment, racism and discrimination. As a result of these settlement challenges and other social issues, a large number of young people become disengaged. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore a social benefit of participation in sport for the South Sudanese people from refugee backgrounds who are settling in Melbourne, Australia. For people with social isolation and other social issues, participation in sport can be a tool that assists those young people by providing physical benefits, a social network (thus breaking social isolation) and sometimes a form of income as a result of being noticed as a good player. Participating in sport can thus be a rewarding experience, particularly for young people, in overcoming settlement challenges. This research was conducted through an in-depth interview of 20 participants from the South Sudanese community. Major findings confirmed that social benefits of sport in relation to network, physical capital, psychological capital, cultural capital, economic capital
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ItemMental Health and Wellbeing of South Sudanese-Australians(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2020-05)The majority of South Sudanese-Australians arrived in Australia, and other host countries outside Africa, after spending a greater part of their lives in refugee camps or conflict-affected areas. In addition, refugees are often not able to return to their home countries because the causes of their departure (wars, insecurity, hunger) continue to apply in their country of origin. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the mental health and wellbeing issues some South Sudanese-Australians experience as a result of settlement difficulties and their earlier experience of conflict. The study looks at experiences of resettlement and settlement difficulties, and, more importantly, mental health and wellbeing issues in the wake of the aforesaid challenges. The data was collected from a qualitative method which comprised a series of semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with a total of 20 South Sudanese-Australians living in Melbourne. There were 11 males and nine females, with ages ranging from 18 to 64 years, who volunteered to participate in this study. Findings indicated that, as with many other people from refugee backgrounds, South Sudanese-Australians face a range of settlement-related challenges, and a host of post-resettlement adaptation experiences such as limited change of gender roles, language proficiency, unemployment, host society unacceptance or intolerance, constrained recreational opportunities, lack of community connectedness and overall mental health and general wellbeing issues. Experiencing conflict can be traumatic and refuge in neighbouring countries that are socio-culturally different can be challenging. In conclusion, these issues can not only be troublesome on a day-to-day basis, but also adversely affect the long-term mental health and wellbeing of refugees.