Understanding Mental Health and Stigma in Congolese, Arabic-Speaking and Mandarin-Speaking Communities

Australia is a richly diverse nation, with the most recent national census undertaken in 2021 indicating that just over half (51.5%) of Australians were born overseas (first generation migrant) or have a parent born overseas (second generation migrant; 1). The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) population of Australia encompasses communities of different languages, nationalities, religions, cultures, ethnic backgrounds, cultural beliefs, and family structures. Research has shown that there is low uptake of mental health services among CaLD individuals despite the need to do so. However, understanding the reasons for reduced mental health help- seeking is lacking, with insufficient evidence to inform mental health service delivery and stigma reduction campaigns for CaLD groups. Embrace Multicultural Mental Health, run by Mental Health Australia, provides a national focus on mental health for CaLD individuals in Australia. Funded by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health, this research project endeavoured to deeply understand the barriers to help-seeking and engagement, including those related to mental health literacy and stigma, in three key CaLD groups – Arabic-speaking, Mandarin-speaking (Chinese), and Congolese. The project aimed to provide (1) new insights into the factors that influence mental health related help-seeking (including that of stigma), and thereby build on the national knowledge base for these three CaLD community groups and (2) provide policy recommendations to inform mental illness stigma reduction initiatives in these communities.