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An exploration into the impact of the resettlement experience, traditional health beliefs and customs on mental ill-health and suicide rates in the Ethiopian community in London
- Author:
- PALMER David
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Migration Health and Social Care, 3(1), July 2007, pp.44-55.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Forced migration and the resettlement experience combine to produce a set of social,, cultural, economic and psychological challenges for forced migrants which may affect integration, mental and physical health, and access to health and social care. This article reports on a pilot study consisting of interviews with an Ethiopian priest, community leaders and Ethiopians working in the community health sector with the aims of improving understanding of the issues, and to inform further study. Initial analysis suggests that this group faces multiple forms of disadvantage which affect mental health. A further interesting dynamic is the relation between lack of 'help seeking behaviour', due to cultural expectations and norms, and lack of access and engagement with Western treatments. Religious mechanisms and activities were also reported as bolstering coping mechanisms. Perhaps most significant was concern about the increasingly suicide rate among this group, many respondents suggesting a direct causal link between suicide and maladjustment in exile.