Western Sydney University, School of Medicine, University Centre for Rural Health, 62 Uralba Street, PO Box 3074, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.
University of Sydney, University Centre for Rural Health, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2019 Feb 1;19(1):143. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6328-2.
People from refugee backgrounds face various challenges after moving to a new country. Successfully securing employment has been linked to positive health outcomes in refugee populations; there is less research into the impact of volunteering on health outcomes in refugees, or the role of employment and volunteering in regional or rural communities. This study aims to explore how employment and volunteering influences the health and wellbeing of refugees settled in regional Australia, and identify areas for appropriate service provision.
Nine adults of refugee background in regional Australia were purposively sampled through community organisations using word-of-mouth referrals for semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to uncover emergent themes and identify relationships between themes. A strengths-based theoretical framework was adopted to inform further analysis.
Paid work and volunteering engenders a sense of self-fulfillment and sense of belonging, facilitating successful integration into a new community. Employment further allows maintenance of an adequate standard of living, thus improving healthcare access and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours. Adverse effects from employment include difficulties managing work-life balance, disconnect with family and loss of traditional heritage, but these were significantly outweighed by the positive effects. Volunteering provides no financial incentive, but similarly promotes community connections and positive self-worth, preparing refugees for the workforce. Both employment and volunteering held direct positive benefits for their physical and mental health, improved healthcare access and promoted cultural and social integration. These factors enabled successful settlement and subsequently improved overall wellbeing of participants. A strengths-based approach demonstrated how participants used employment as a tool for seeking purpose and ongoing self-development.
Unique experiences with employment and volunteering in a regional area amongst a refugee community were explored. Our results describe various ways in which meaningful employment and volunteering can facilitate positive health and wellbeing outcomes of refugees, and thus reinforces the importance of providing such opportunities to ensure successful settlement. The benefits of volunteering in this community have not been previously explored. Additionally, concerns expressed and recommendations suggested by participants could be used to inform future research, policy, interventions and health and employment service provision for refugee populations.
难民在移居到一个新的国家后面临着各种挑战。在难民群体中，成功就业与积极的健康结果相关联；而关于志愿服务对难民健康结果的影响，或者就业和志愿服务在区域或农村社区中的作用，研究则较少。本研究旨在探讨就业和志愿服务如何影响在澳大利亚区域定居的难民的健康和幸福感，并确定适当服务提供的领域。
通过社区组织，通过口碑推荐，在澳大利亚区域选取了 9 名有难民背景的成年人作为研究对象，进行半结构式访谈。对访谈进行了转录。采用主题分析方法揭示了新兴主题，并确定了主题之间的关系。采用基于优势的理论框架为进一步分析提供信息。
有报酬的工作和志愿服务会产生自我实现感和归属感，有助于难民成功融入新社区。就业进一步允许维持适当的生活水平，从而改善医疗保健的获取，并促进健康的生活方式行为。就业的不利影响包括难以平衡工作与生活，与家庭脱节以及失去传统遗产，但这些负面影响远远超过了积极影响。志愿服务没有经济激励，但同样促进了社区联系和积极的自我价值感，为难民进入劳动力市场做好准备。就业和志愿服务都对他们的身心健康、改善医疗保健的获取以及促进文化和社会融合产生了直接的积极影响。这些因素使参与者成功定居，并随后改善了他们的整体幸福感。基于优势的方法展示了参与者如何将就业作为寻求目标和持续自我发展的工具。
探讨了难民社区在区域环境中就业和志愿服务的独特经历。我们的研究结果描述了有意义的就业和志愿服务可以促进难民积极的健康和幸福感的各种方式，从而强调了提供这种机会的重要性，以确保成功定居。本研究还探讨了社区志愿服务的好处。此外，参与者提出的关切和建议可以用于为未来的研究、政策、干预措施以及难民的健康和就业服务提供提供信息。
