Martin Shadi Sahami
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA.
Health Soc Work. 2009 May;34(2):117-26. doi: 10.1093/hsw/34.2.117.
The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore whether the way mental health is conceptualized by older Iranian immigrants can influence their mental health-related practices. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 Iranians who had immigrated to the United States after the age of 50. The findings from this study revealed that the older Iranian immigrants were reluctant to seek mental health care services in the United States.This resistance was largely attributed to the cultural differences in mental health conceptualization (language, definitions, and terminology) and lack of trust in the effectiveness ofpsychotropic medications. The findings of this study have implications for health and social service professionals who provide services to older immigrants, refugees, and minority populations whose mental health conceptualization may not be consistent with the biomedical model.
这项质性现象学研究的目的是探讨伊朗老年移民对心理健康的概念化方式是否会影响他们与心理健康相关的行为。对15名50岁以后移民到美国的伊朗人进行了深入访谈。该研究的结果显示，伊朗老年移民在美国不太愿意寻求心理健康护理服务。这种抵触情绪主要归因于心理健康概念化方面的文化差异（语言、定义和术语）以及对精神药物疗效缺乏信任。该研究结果对为老年移民、难民和少数族裔群体提供服务的健康和社会服务专业人员具有启示意义，这些群体的心理健康概念化可能与生物医学模式不一致。
