The aim of this research was to inform the development of mobile phone-assisted health promotion programmes that support social connectedness among refuge women to enhance their mental, physical and social health. For refugees, relationship development during the early stages of resettlement is often difficult. Enhancing personal skills, and resources, can enhance relationships that provide social support. It can also contribute to the development of social relationships in communities and thence acculturation. Communication technologies can assist refugees, if their particular needs and capacities are taken into account. This paper reports a study of refugee women's experience of an intervention based on principles of empowerment and using peer support training and the provision of free mobile phones, and free calls, for at least 1 year. Potential participants were invited by the Afghan, Burmese and Sudanese community leaders to an information session, where the study was explained and invitations to participate extended. A snowball sampling technique was also used, where the first group of participants invited people they had relationships with to join the programme. One hundred and eleven participants were recruited from the three groups. All were from refugee backgrounds. Data collection consisted of: a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire; a log of outgoing phone calls; and in-depth interviews with a subgroup of the study population. The call logs described the patterns of interpersonal relationships facilitated by the mobile phones. In the interviews, characteristics of interpersonal social support, and relationships with heritage and host communities, were described. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data using thematic analysis. By describing the conditions under which mobile phone technology can enhance interpersonal and community connectedness, we strengthen the evidence base for the use of mobile phone technology in health promotion programmes with refugee groups.

Refugee women have poor psychosocial health as a result of past trauma and difficulties associated with settlement. This study was a pilot to find out how to use mobile phone-based peer support to improve the psychosocial health of, and facilitate settlement in a group of nine Nuer refugee women in Melbourne, Australia. Nine participants recruited by a community leader received peer support training over two five-week periods. They were further provided with mobile phone recharge vouchers to call one another to practice peer support techniques. The fifth and final sessions were focus groups to evaluate the intervention. Notes from the focus groups were thematically analysed. The women reported greater confidence and empowerment as they received more support, had better connections within the group and better access to information. Relationships with friends, family and the community became richer as they adopted and experienced more functional communication patterns. Using mobile phones for peer support helped to re-create community by bridging the geographical distance that separates refugee women. It allowed the women, from similar backgrounds and with similar experiences, to provide mutual support and exchange information through a verbal channel, the form of communication they are most comfortable with. The program demonstrates the positive psychosocial effect of peer support in a refugee community, and provides a viable model for using mobile phones in health promotion interventions. The successful outcomes, as perceived by the participants, are indicative of the potential of using technology to bridge health inequities in a marginalised group.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a mixed method study of social capital development and use, based on an intervention which provided women from refugee backgrounds with social capital development skills and tools. Design/methodology/approach In total, 111 Afghan, Burmese and Sudanese women living in Melbourne, Australia, received peer-support training and a free unlimited fixed-dial mobile phone for one year. Findings Interview and call log data suggest that the training sessions and mobile phones played important roles in bonding social capital development, resulting in a complex support network among participants. To a lesser extent, there was also evidence of bridging social capital creation. By providing linkages to government institutions through an interpreter service, the mobile phones gave participants easy access to linking social capital, in their heritage language. Originality/value The program supplements existing community resources with mobile phone technology to create social capital rich networks within these disadvantaged communities, and the authors describe the community characteristics that make participants amenable to such an intervention.

In this article, we discuss qualitative findings basing on the experiences of refugee women living in Melbourne, Australia, who participated in a peer support training programme and received a free mobile phone. We pay attention to social support as a health enhancing strategy and empowerment that occurred among the participants. Participation in peer support groups and access to a mobile phone were beneficial for the women. Peer support functioned as social support among group members. The programme allowed the women to be connected to their families and the wider communities and assisted them to access health care and other settlement aspects with greater ease. It also increased personal empowerment among the women. Our programme shows that by tapping on community resources to ameliorate personal or resettlement issues, the burden on service providers can be reduced. Our findings also offer a model for future research and programmes regarding refugee people elsewhere.

This paper explains how routinely collected data can be used to examine the emergency department attendances of Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The data reported in the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD) for the 2006/2007 financial year were analysed. The presentations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal people were compared in terms of age, gender, hospital location (metropolitan and rural) and presenting condition. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were found to attend the emergency department 1.8 times more often than non-Aboriginal people. While the emergency department presentation rates of metropolitan Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal people were similar, rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people presented to the emergency department 2.3 times more often than non-Aboriginal people. The injuries or poisonings, respiratory conditions and mental disorders presentation rates of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal population were compared. No previous studies have assessed the accuracy of the Indigenous status and diagnosis fields in the VEMD; therefore the quality of this data is unknown.