A Community Engagement Framework. Integrating Refugee Background Communities’ Voices into the Mental Health System Reform
Overview
This framework establishes a model to enhance the active involvement of individuals and communities from refugee backgrounds in Victoria's mental health system reform, ensuring equitable access to safe, responsive and inclusive mental health services for all. This framework was developed based on insights gathered through community engagements and service sector consultations conducted for the Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Project. It outlines principles, key considerations, strategies and illustrative examples to facilitate meaningful engagement.
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Key insights
The framework identifies seven principles for engaging refugee background communities in the mental health reforms:
- Community engagement entails trust and relationship building
- Refugee backgrounds and communities are not homogenous
- Use a trauma-informed and recovery-focused approach
- Identify and address barriers to participation
- Mental health awareness is essential to effective community engagement
- Community engagement is a reciprocal process
- Community engagement should result in sustainable collaboration
- Include the service sector in community engagement
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How can this resource help me as a...?
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By developing my understanding of culturally sensitive approaches to including refugee background communities in mental health research.
By guiding my planning for engaging with refugee communities to plan, design, conduct and disseminate research. This ensures engagement is effective and that my research is relevant, respectful and responsive to the cultural context of refugee background communities. Demonstrating my commitment to community-based participatory research may make my research more competitive for funding opportunities. By addressing the specific needs and perspectives of refugee communities, I can produce findings that directly inform and influence mental health policies and practices.
By developing my understanding of culturally sensitive approaches to including refugee background communities in mental health research.
By guiding my planning for engaging with refugee communities to plan, design, conduct and disseminate research. This ensures engagement is effective and that studies are relevant, respectful and responsive to the cultural context of refugee background communities. Demonstrating my commitment to community-based participatory research may make research more competitive for funding opportunities. By addressing the specific needs and perspectives of refugee communities, researchers can produce findings that directly inform and influence mental health policies and practices.
By building the capacity and active involvement of refugee background communities in Victoria to participate in my engagement activities. Effective community engagement will ensure the delivery of more inclusive, accessible, responsive and effective mental health services and models of care, treatment and support that meet the needs of refugee background communities. Health services and models informed by diverse perspectives can lead to increased utilisation of my service by these communities
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Categories
Resource type
Engagement & Participation Tool
Target audiences
Service Commissioners
Translational research priority theme
Culturally responsive
Workforce capability
Working with diverse consumers, families and communities
Population cohort
Older Adults
Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Communities
Neurodiverse Communities
Collaborative Centre core function
Service delivery
Lived Experience Participation