Chinese Mental Health in NZ

Background

The mental health of new Chinese working & family new immigrants to New Zealand is an important health issue that has received little attention in the New Zealand health sector. The lack of targeted mental health strategies for Chinese immigrants is also worrying as it has been shown that immigration is an extremely stressful experience and can have adverse effects on the health of Chinese migrants in New Zealand. These trends are attributed to a lack of qualification recognition, discrimination in the work place, and under-employment from real society.

Goals and Objectives

The short term goal of the health promotion intervention is to raise awareness of the mental health issues that may arise as a result of migration. Additionally, Access and pathways to mental health services must all be ensured.

To provide outreach programs to inform and educate the Chinese Migrants (hereafter; ‘’ group’’) about the accessibility and the availability of health care services.

 In the medium term,

To conduct an in-depth data collection, analysis and reporting of health status for Chinese migrants groups in NZ.

To ensure the availability of quality health care directed to the specific needs of the groups in NZ

A collaborative policy network community for mental health needs to lobby the Mental Health Foundation

Finally, long term goals will be addressed by the empowered groups to assist in the creation and implementation of policies and services addressing group’s mental health.  Also, a supportive environment needs to be created where groups are able to go seek help for mental health issues. To ensure that all groups in NZ have their fair share of health care by eliminating barriers

  Upstream factors include the determinants of mental health; income, education, employment and housing. Chinese are more educated than the average New Zealander, have higher levels of unemployment, a higher proportion of people with an income of less than $20,000, and lower rates of home ownership. These trends are attributed to a lack of qualification recognition, discrimination in the work place, and under-employment.

  

   Midstream factors symptomatic of the Chinese community include the prevalence of 'Astronaut families' where the bread-winner returns to the country of origin for work, and discrimination in the work place.  Behavioral factors also contribute, as it has been found that the majority of Chinese do not undertake 150 minutes of physical exercise per week. Physical activity has been found to positively affect mental health and the lack of it may exacerbate the feelings of depression, anxiety and isolation experienced by Chinese migrants.

  

 Downstream factors pertaining to health status and biological indicators such as morbidity, mortality, and life expectancy and the prevalence of CVD, IHD, Type 2 Diabetes. It is also important to note that there is little acknowledgement that these are mental health issues. Moreover, the highly stigmatized nature of mental illness in the Chinese community results in very few people seeking help for largely treatable conditions.

Recommendations

a. Health Education
be established active community associations. Buddhism Society and Church, among others, organize health-related activities, such as discussions about health topics, and courses on medical terminology. To address senior issues, promote social relations among seniors, and improve their well-being.
Seeking care for mental health issues; symptoms of chronic illnesses; and selecting an appropriate doctor. The community was organizing a discussion about hypertension and how to prevent it.

b. Disseminating Health-related Information
such as via professional and community associations, namely, other media channels mentioned are the newspaper and the music radio station

c. Improve Access to Health Services (leading to policy change)

·        First of all, access to low-cost health insurance and low-cost health care were strongly recommended. The Chinese communities organize a number of health-related activities.

·        They suggested that increased funding from the county targeted to their organization would help them organize more activities to educate the community and improve their quality of life.

·        Although they provide limited transportation to medical facilities, they would like the County to support them in continuing to provide transportation that would facilitate the community’s access to health care.

·        Holding health fairs and providing community clinics with nighttime service hours as other ways to improve access to care.