Mindfulness Program for Arabic Speaking Women: Arabic Mindfulness Intervention Phase 2

Arabic-speaking communities in Australia underutilise mental health services for many reasons including language and cultural barriers, preferring to rely on family and community for support. Mental health professionals have few Arabic-language clinical tools at their disposal and suitable self-management resources are lacking. Mindfulness-based interventions are an effective treatment for depression, anxiety and stress. Previous research conducted in south-east Sydney demonstrated that the Arabic Mindfulness CD was a clinically effective and culturally acceptable intervention. In that study, Arabic-speaking community members were recruited individually and were mostly long-term residents living within a well-established migrant community. Following those promising findings, it was decided to test the translated and culturally-tailored intervention in a group setting and in a different geographical location, specifically with newly-arrived Arabic-speaking women from refugee-like backgrounds. The Mindfulness Program for Arabic-Speaking Women was run at Illawarra Multicultural Services in Wollongong in the second half of 2016. The intervention comprised a 5-week group program with the CD used to support homework activities. The evaluation incorporated a pre-post study with a wait-list control group. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS21) which was completed at baseline and post-program, together with a questionnaire assessing knowledge and attitudes toward mindfulness. Qualitative measures, including participant written and verbal comments, were used to assess cultural acceptability. A total of 20 women participated in two programs: 12 in the first (intervention) group and 8 in the second (wait-list control) group. Their countries of birth included Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Libya. All were of Muslim faith. Over half had lived in Australia for less than four years. Most reported a history of war-related trauma.