An electronic publication from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Issue 9, November 2000 - February 2001 : ISSN 1329-3362
Conference abstracts and papers
12th National Health Promotion Conference: Inequalities in health
- reflecting back, stepping forward.
29 October - 1 November 2000, Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne, Victoria.
Audrey Deemal
"What choice
do we have? There's no place for us to go". Young Women's Emotional
and Mental Health Study.
Background: The Young Women's Emotional and Mental Health Study is part of a community based program. The study consists of focus group discussions and a survey using a questionnaire to obtain information on the prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression and how young women define and manage these problems.
Method: Four focus groups were conducted. In each focus group 4 to 7 women between 16 to 31 years participated. The focus group transcripts were then put into themes, a questionnaire was developed and was conducted to 98 young women.
Results: Preliminary results from the focus groups indicate that the participants understood stress as a combination of depression and anxiety. They identified a great variety of items that caused stress. The majority believe stress is the main cause of alcohol and drug abuse. It was also understood that there is inadequate services and resources to assist young women in dealing with these mental health problems.
Conclusion: The barriers needed to be overcome to provide culturally adequate mental health services will be examined with the results of the questionnaire.
