The Politics of Conducting Research on Depression in a Cross-Cultural Context

Abstract

Successful community engagement is often a crucial component of effective qualitative research. In this article we reflect on our experience of engaging with ethnic minority communities in a qualitative study of help seeking for depression. Community engagement emerges as a complex process that provides important insights into the way mental illness is constructed in various cultural contexts and from diverse perspectives. Contested notions of ethnicity, culture, community, and depression were the domains in which personal and public politics were played out. We worked with bilingual research assistants who provided an entrée to the community. Despite this, disparate community subgroups and influential individuals vied for input into and control of the research agenda. We conclude that negotiating the politics of these processes requires great reflexivity and is itself a powerful seam of data, adding richness to findings about the experience of mental distress in a community seeking to locate itself within mainstream society.

Two sides of the coin: patient and provider perceptions of health care delivery to patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

“…Focus group participants found medical terminology particularly problematic despite some demonstrating high levels of English-proficiency. This has also been raised elsewhere [26]. Furthermore, translating medical terminology into simple language is particularly challenging if there is no language or conceptual equivalent of certain medical conditions in other cultures, for instance, when treating East African refugees for mental illness as the there is no word for ‘depression’ in Sudanese or Ethiopian [24].…”

“…Furthermore, translating medical terminology into simple language is particularly challenging if there is no language or conceptual equivalent of certain medical conditions in other cultures, for instance, when treating East African refugees for mental illness as the there is no word for ‘depression’ in Sudanese or Ethiopian [24]. These examples highlight not only the importance of limiting the use of medical terminology when treating CALD patients, but also recognising that Western medical concepts may not readily translate across cultures [26]. Educational resources are also needed to help develop health literacy in CALD populations.…”

Researching the mental health needs of hard-to-reach groups: managing multiple sources of evidence

“…Second, it was not possible to for all the objectives of all our evidence- gathering strands to be fully realised: our grey literature review, for example, was limited by the willingness of service providers to respond to our requests; and our accesss to interviews with Polish service users was more limited than anticipated. Third, we are aware of the complexities of gathering information from stakeholders, who may act as brokers and filters of information from their communities, effectively censoring information they deem inappropriate to share with outsiders [41]. Fourth, there remains the risk that, despite all the external advice and review procedures built into this process, the perspectives and prejudices of the AMP team may have exerted undue influence on the conclusions and consequent outcomes.…”

Normal life crises and insanity—mental illness contextualised

“…The way people are supported by their family, their social network, and their faith in taking care of such crises and 'insanity' is described in other studies worldwide (Kleinman, 1991;Kokanovic et al, 2009). El-Islam (1982 has investigated the role of the family among Arabs in cases where a member suffers from mental illness.…”