This portfolio focuses on providing care for two groups of people i.e.

culturally and linguistically

diverse people and refugees based on two guiding principles. The first principle is that

consumers should be involved actively in all the decisions made regarding their care and

treatment for the CALD group and given the opportunity to choose their own treatment and

setting. The second principle is that services should be delivered with the aim of providing

sustained recovery for the refugee group.

Consumers with diverse cultural and ethnic background experience barriers in engaging with

mental health care services and most have negative events which highlight their powerlessness in

making decisions about their care (Dune et al., 2018). Due to a lack of knowledge about the

healthcare system, consumers feel that their autonomy to be involved in decision-making is

overlooked which leads to a lack of trust in the provision of services and poor accessibility.

According to the literature, while providing care for people with culturally and linguistically

diverse (CALD) backgrounds, people experience multiple social and personal disadvantages in

health care needs and services (O’brien et al., 2021). Due to differences in languages, norms and

health beliefs, it is often noted that these consumers are not included in their care and often feel

left out and unattended. Therefore, according to this guiding principle, when working with

diverse background populations, the best support and care is to be culturally responsive and

sensitive to build communication (Radhamony et al., 2023). The guiding principle prompts

health care services to use a recovery-focused approach which is directed at the person requiring

care, understanding his social, physical and psychological needs to improve overall well-being.

The practitioner providing the care should use these approaches and provide an opportunity for

the patient to express his feelings and thoughts regarding the treatment planning (O’brien et al.,

2021). For instance, in mental health services, treatments such as the use of psychotropic drugs
or more aggressive methods i.e. seclusion or restraints etc. can have a huge impact on an

individual’s well-being. Including them and their family members in making these decisions

driven by the patient’s needs, goals and outcomes is essential (Radhamony et al., 2023). Mental

health services should empower the CALD people to take charge of their care and choose the

setting within which they would want their treatment, such as within community settings. Thus,

this guiding principle is fundamental in providing person-centred mental health care and support

to CALD communities (Dune et al., 2018).

The second group of people is refugees who face enormous adversities due to being away from

their homes and have also endured terrible events in their history. According to the literature,

their experiences of violence, deprivation and imprisonment affect their mental well-being

heavily and thus need immediate care and support (Langlois et al., 2016). Australia has a number

of refugees living in different areas however, their experiences with mental health services are

similar i.e. poor maintenance and recovery from the effects of their previous experiences (Silove

et al., 2017). After providing immediate services, it is noted that access to the resources and

knowledge about them is limited in refugee groups which leads to more adverse impacts such as

the use of substances to manage mental health symptoms or unresolved trauma, unemployment

etc. Services should be integrated and must facilitate recovery by providing support in the form

of mental and physical health, peer-based support, safe housing and a healthy environment,

resolution of employment issues and cultural support (Langlois et al., 2016). Providing

community-based interventions to refugee groups can facilitate and sustain recovery with regular

visitation to their clinicians, nurses and counsellors. Moreover, the guiding principle suggests

making changes in life that bring a sense of control, consciousness and empowerment. Therefore,

nurses working in mental health services will advocate for refugees in taking control of their
lives by working as their case managers too and forming appropriate referrals to ensure that they

are taken care of (Langlois et al., 2016). Lastly, this guiding principle is also applicable in those

settings where the patient is dealing with substance-related problems and needs to sustain

recovery from their symptoms. Therefore, the mental health services role will extend to the

community settings as well (Silove et al., 2017).

 References

Dune, T., Caputi, P., & Walker, B. (2018). A systematic review of mental health care workers'

constructions about culturally and linguistically diverse people. PLoS One, 13(7), e0200662.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200662

Langlois, E. V., Haines, A., Tomson, G., & Ghaffar, A. (2016). Refugees: towards better access

to health-care services. The Lancet, 387(10016), 319-321. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-

6736(16)00101-X

O’Brien, J., Fossey, E., & Palmer, V. J. (2021). A scoping review of the use of co‐design

methods with culturally and linguistically diverse communities to improve or adapt mental health

services. Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13105

Radhamony, R., Cross, W. M., Townsin, L., & Banik, B. (2023). Perspectives of culturally and

linguistically diverse (CALD) community members regarding mental health services: A

qualitative analysis. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12919

Silove, D., Ventevogel, P., & Rees, S. (2017). The contemporary refugee crisis: an overview of

mental health challenges. World psychiatry, 16(2), 130-139. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20438