Y4 Health Information - Advancing Mental Health Awareness for Afghan Refugee Women through Mental Health Literacy Workshop

The project, "Advancing Mental Health Awareness for Afghan Refugee Women through Mental Health Literacy Workshop,” at The University of Oklahoma has a focused mission to promote mental health awareness for marginalized and underserved Afghan refugee women tailored to the unique needs of the population. Given the rapid increase in Afghan refugees, the high prevalence of mental disorders, and widespread misconceptions about mental health among this population, this initiative aims to (1) educate Afghan women refugees to dispel misconceptions and reduce the stigma associated with mental health disorders, and (2) train agency staff and clinical practitioners at refugee resettlement organizations, and clinical social workers in a prominent social work program to understand the cultural backgrounds of Afghans regarding mental health and respond to mental health disorders in culturally accepted ways. Because of the limited research on this population, healthcare professionals and clinical social workers face challenges in properly interacting with and serving this community. To ensure the success of the project, strategic partnerships will be forged with three refugee supporting organizations and a social work program. We will enlist agency staff and clinical practitioners from three refugee organizations to provide them with training to enhance their understanding of mental health disorders within Afghan culture. The goal is to empower them to engage with these refugees in culturally accepted ways. We will also recruit social work students and practitioners from the Continuing Education program at the Ruth Knee Institute for Transformative Scholarship at the University of Oklahoma (OU). These individuals, aspiring to become licensed clinical social workers, will contribute to enhancing the sustainability of this project. Two culturally competent and licensed social workers, experienced in teaching Afghan refugees, will provide training for agency staff and clinical practitioners, health literacy workshops for refugees, clinical practitioners including social workers. We will utilize materials from MedlinePlus and PubMed to create educational content, promoting them as trustworthy mental health resources for training participants. A Muslim culture expert will provide additional training to these two licensed clinical social worker instructors. Two respected community leaders, fluent in both the local Afghan language and English, will recruit participants for the mental health literacy workshops and translate the workshops from English to their local languages. The project aims to empower Afghan refugee women regarding mental health by enhancing their health literacy and promoting mental health equity. This empowerment not only equips them with knowledge about mental health but also positions them as valuable community members capable of making positive contributions and reduces mental health disparity. Another expected outcome is that agency staff and clinical social workers will gain an understanding of the mental health challenges faced by Afghan refugees. This includes awareness of cultural stigma and an Insight into their help-seeking behavior. The ultimate goal is to enhance the mental well-being of Afghan women refugees.