School of Social Sciences
Refugee Health Research Centre - Current Projects
Good Starts Study for Refugee Youth
Broadsheets
These broadsheets provide descriptive information from the Good Starts Study for Refugee Youth around specific topics or themes.
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Brief Project Description
How do newly arrived young people from refugee backgrounds experience settlement? What are the social determinants of health and well-being among refugee youth? What are the social contexts and factors that promote school achievement for refugee youth? What factors underpin the building self-esteem, social networks and good futures for youth from refugee backgrounds? What are the most effective strategies for promoting and supporting mental and social health in contexts of change and transition?
Virtually no research has been carried out to investigate these questions and there is a lack of evidence to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes and policies which aim to optimize health and well-being outcomes youth from refugee backgrounds. This study directly addresses this gap in the research on the social determinants of health and well-being among refugee communities with a specific focus on young people and the settlement process.
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Objectives
This is a longitudinal study that combines the methods of ethnography and social epidemiology to examine the contexts and processes that promote health and well-being amongst newly arrived young refugees. The overall aim of this study is two-fold: (a) to identify the key factors (or social determinants) that assist young people in making a healthy start in their new country and (b) to describe in depth, the factors, contexts, settings and social processes that support, enhance and facilitate health and well-being amongst this dislocated and traumatized population of youth.
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Methods
The study follows 120 refugee youth over a four-year period. Participants aged 11 to 19 years were recruited through English Language Schools/Centres within the first 12 months of arrival in Australia. The methodology and specific methods of data collection, sampling and analysis were developed and refined during a feasibility study in 2001-2002. Data collection is conducted through a series of activities carried out in the classroom, family and community settings. Qualitative methods include photo narratives, ladders of life, social circles, self-portraits, place maps, in-depth interviews and group discussions. Quantitative methods include validated scales/instruments to measure key indicators of health and well-being, self-esteem, ethnic identity, optimism, social connectedness including social inclusion/exclusion, discrimination, educational aspiration and participation, and employment. Data is collected using a yearly settlement journal (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rhrc/materials.html) as well as interviews and researcher field notes. To maintain contact with the young people a number of ongoing strategies are employed including phone calls, postcards, and yearly newsletters (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rhrc/materials.html).
Contact: Sandy Gifford
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Benefits
An important outcome of this study will be to identify the key issues that concern young refugee youth when they enter mainstream schools and the ways in which schools, families, and youth and community services can support refugee young people. Currently, there is very little information that sheds light on why some refugee youth settle well, thus achieving good health and wellbeing and good educational outcomes. This study will help to identify the predictors of good settlement and good health. The study will contribute to the development of school, family and community services and policies that best facilitate optimal settlement and well-being over the longer term.
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Publications
Gifford, S., Bakopanos, C., Kaplan, I., Correa-Velez, I. (2007) 'Meaning or Measurement? Researching the social contexts of health and settlement among newly-arrived refugee youth in Melbourne, Australia', Journal of Refugee Studies.
(http://jrs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/fem004?ijkey=7DfrdfuDwLyGAwZ&keytype=ref)
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Institution/s
Refugee Health Research Centre, La Trobe University, and the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture.
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Keywords
health and wellbeing, settlement, refugee young people
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Funding Source/s
VicHealth
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