Ethnic immigrant community support for mental health care and promotion in African Refugees in NC

Since the 1990s, the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina has been one of the new gateway regions for resettling refugees of war and conflict from Central, Western and Sub-Saharan Africa. A recent study in the region found that current efforts to respond to adaptation stressors and mental health challenges for new “African” residents have been sparse and typically consists of ancillary assistance such as case management and referrals. The study found some evidence that local existing immigrant based organizations and groups are providing ethnic/cultural specific services and support that may both directly and indirectly address mental health needs of these groups. The content and extent to which these efforts or strategies are employed have yet to be fully documented and understood. We conducted 8 qualitative case studies of key ethnic immigrant community based organizations and groups to meet the following objectives: (1) identify and describe the culture specific methods or strategies used in addressing adaptation stressors and mental health issues (e.g. social isolation, loneliness, depression, PTSD) among African immigrant and refugee newcomers, and (2) identify challenges and future needs when addressing mental health care and promotion for newcomer communities. The results will be presented in terms of a model of mental health care and promotion based on the ecological model for health promotion. Implications of the findings will be discussed in terms of shaping culturally appropriate, “African-centered” public health practice that can alleviate mental health disparities among these minority groups.