MHIMA - FRAMEWORK FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA: TOWARDS CULTURALLY INCLUSIVE SERVICE DELIVERY

WORKERS - IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE - Promotion, prevention & early intervention

Mental health promotion and prevention strategies for CALD people should primarily aim to reduce stigma and increase mental health literacy. It is also important to design multicultural mental health promotion and prevention initiatives that focus on the key determinants impacting on CALD communities, and ensure culturally tailored approaches. The overarching goal is to:

Promote mental health and well-being
Prevent mental illness
Provide culturally appropriate early intervention
Provide culturally responsive mental health care.

To do this, specific attention must be given to the social contexts impacting on mental health in CALD communities, and also cultural beliefs and values relating to mental health within individuals, groups and communities.

Many of the risk and protective factors for mental health problems in CALD people occur in the daily lives of individuals and communities. These need to be tackled by building strong partnerships between mental health services, and multicultural sector organisations and diverse communities.

Evidence shows that unsuccessful approaches approaches are those which:

Implementing standardised mental health promotion and prevention programs where CALD populations have to conform to receive services.

More successful approaches are those which are:

Fully integrated, where diverse beliefs, perspectives and values of mental health underpin the content and delivery of the program
Strongly collaborative, where agencies and groups from the multicultural sector and sectors impacting on the mental health and well-being of CALD communities (such as health, education, employment, housing, immigration, and justice) work together to collectively develop a culture of inclusion.

These approaches will ensure that Australian mental health promotion and prevention programs reflect and harness the benefits of the great cultural and linguistic diversity of the population.

KEY OUTCOME AREA 3: PROMOTION, PREVENTION & EARLY INTERVENTION

Increased mental health awareness, knowledge and capacity in CALD communities via culturally inclusive promotion, prevention & early intervention initiatives.

Outcome Indicator 3.1 Improved access to culturally appropriate suicide prevention support, care, services, resources and information for CALD consumers and carers.

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I accept and respect the importance of CALD consumers and carers being able to access culturally tailored support strategies and suicide prevention services.		NSMHS: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6
Developing	I provide CALD consumers and carers with culturally tailored suicide prevention support and services.
Advanced	I participate in routine reviews and implement the improved suicide prevention strategies to support CALD consumers and carers.

Outcome Indicator 3.2 Improved suicide prevention approaches for at-risk CALD groups, including CALD older people, refugees, women carers, children and young people.

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I am aware of the higher risk of suicide among specific CALD population groups, such as older people, and tailor intervention plans accordingly.		NSMHS: 5
Developing	I actively support the development of targeted strategies to engage with CALD groups at higher risk of suicide.
Advanced	I implement the improved tailored strategies to engage with CALD groups at higher risk of suicide.

Outcome Indicator 3.3 Strengthened evidence base about CALD suicide prevention initiatives.

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I accept and respect the importance of evaluation and data collection regarding suicide prevention initiatives implemented with CALD consumers and carers in the catchment area.
Developing	I participate in data collection about CALD consumers and carers and CALD initiatives in mental health regarding suicide prevention.
Advanced	I participate in evaluations and implement improved processes of data collection about CALD consumer and carer initiatives.

Outcome Indicator 3.4 Improved community outreach with CALD priority groups(: older people; women; refugees; carers; children and young people).

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I am involved in gathering and analysing demographic data in order to determine which CALD communities are represented in the area and which groups have the highest needs.		NSMHS: 4
Developing	I support and implement this outreach plan and work with identified CALD groups, consumers and carers who have the highest needs.
Advanced	I participate in routine evaluations of outreach activities and implement improvements to working with identified CALD priority groups.

Outcome Indicator 3.5 Increased number of CALD-specific stigma reduction, mental health literacy programs and mental health first aid delivered.

Level	Implementation Strategy and Criteria to improve Responsiveness Levels	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I accept and respect the importance of stigma reduction activities incorporating the improvement of mental health literacy in my practice.		NSMHS: 4
Developing	I participate in processes to improve CALD mental health stigma reduction activities amongst CALD consumers and carers.
Advanced	I participate in evaluations and implement improved strategies for CALD stigma reduction activities.

Outcome Indicator 3.6 Increased integration of CALD perspectives into mainstream stigma reduction initiatives

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I accept and respect the importance of integrating CALD perspectives into mainstream stigma reduction activities and initiatives.		NSMHS: 4
Developing	I ensure CALD perspectives are being integrated into mainstream stigma reduction initiatives.
Advanced	I participate in evaluations and implement the improved strategies to strengthen the integration of CALD stigma reduction activities.

Outcome Indicator 3.7 Improved CALD community capacity building and engagement

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I participate in community capacity building and engagement in CALD communities in order to reduce stigma and increase understanding of mental health, and mental health services.		NSMHS: 5
Developing	I facilitate capacity building and engagement activities in CALD communities.
Advanced	I routinely participate in reviews and utilise the improved strategies to contribute to the capacity building and engagement activities for CALD consumers and carers and their communities.

Outcome Indicator 3.8 Improved social participation of CALD people with mental illness.

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I accept and respect the importance of improving the social participation of CALD people with mental illness.		NSMHS: 5
Developing	I facilitate culturally tailored mechanisms to improve the social participation of CALD mental health consumers.
Advanced	I participate in reviews and implement the improved strategies to increase the social participation of CALD consumers.

Outcome Indicator 3.9 Improved economic participation of CALD mental health consumers.

Level	Strategy	Good Practice Examples	Referencing
Entry	I accept and respect the need for, and the importance of, improving the economic participation of CALD mental health consumers.
Developing	I facilitate CALD-specific mechanisms to improve the economic participation of CALD mental health consumers.
Advanced	I participate in reviews and implement the improvements to increase the economic participation of CALD mental health consumers.