Promoting the Mental Health of Somali Refugee Women and Their Children

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Promoting the Mental Health of Somali Refugee
Women and Their Children

• Nadifa Osman
• Women of Africa Resource Development
  Association
• Joän Patterson
• University of Minnesota School of Public
  Health

MCH Summer Institute Building Healthy Families
and Communities June 21, 2004
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Somali Women's Support Circle
One might ask Why, where, how, and what led me
to organize this group for women?

• Single parent issue
• Demise of families economic status and stability
• Poverty and racism
• Language barrier
• Educational challenge of adults and children

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Pregnancy Health Needs

• Child birthing In Somali, women had many forms
  of support that do not exist for them in the U.S.
• Extended family provided emotional financial
  support
• Help with chores in the home
• New mother had few worries
• Hard labor excessive bleeding, lower back pain
  and soreness of the joints
• Threat of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
  diseases
• Many youth are becoming sexually active before
  marriage
• The culture accepts polygamy

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Physical Health Needs

• Oral health was not an issue in Somalia
• However in America, it is quite common for Somali
  women and children to have oral health issues.
• Nutrition, diet and exercise
• In Somali, people walk as opposed to driving
  everywhere

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Mental Health Needs

• Many women experienced torture themselves or
  witnessed torture first hand in Somalia
• This experience has left mental scares that
  negatively affect their mental well being.
• Their mental health problems are exacerbated due
  to
• Social, economic and cultural factors
• Mistrust of mental health providers who do not
  respect, or are incompatible with the culture of
  the people they serve creates a barrier to
  seeking medical attention
• The overall stress of being a single parent
  contributes to womens mental health being
  extremely fragile.

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Conclusions Leading to Somali
Womens Support Circle

• In general, individuals are best served by
  professionals from their cultural or ethnic group
  
• Somali women need to obtain services from Somali
  professionals who best understand their culture
  dynamics, behaviors and norms.
• It is imperative that someone from the cultural
  group be included in the decision making process
  and overall implementation of programs and
  services

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Extending the Reach of the Somali Womens Support
Circle

• Building the capacity of other Somali women to
  create and facilitate Womens Support Circles

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Intergenerational Mental Health Promotion for
Somali Refugees

• GOAL of the PROGRAM
• The purpose of this program is to promote mental
  health and prevent mental disorders among two
  generations of Somali refugees women and the
  children they are parenting

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Intergenerational Mental Health Promotion for
Somali Refugees

• Objective 1 Strengthen the social and
  psychological resources of Somali refugee women
• Objective 2 Reduce mental illness symptoms and
  mental disorders among Somali refugee women
• Objective 3 Enhance the parenting competence of
  Somali refugee women

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Program Theory of Action
S o m a l i C h i l d r e n
S o m a l i W o m e n

• Mental Health
• Self-Esteem
• Self Efficacy

• Mental Health
• Emotional functioning
• Social functioning

Social Support
Parenting Competence
Coping Self-Healing Skills
Reduction in Mental Illness Symptoms
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Program Theory of Action
Objective 1 Strengthen psychological and social
resources

• Mental Health
• Self-Esteem
• Self Efficacy

• Mental Health
• Emotional functioning
• Social functioning

Social Support
Parenting Competence
Coping Self-Healing Skills
Reduction in Mental Illness Symptoms
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Program Theory of Action

• Mental Health
• Self-Esteem
• Self Efficacy

• Mental Health
• Emotional functioning
• Social functioning

Social Support
Parenting Competence
Coping Self-Healing Skills
Objective 3
Reduction in Mental Illness Symptoms
Objective 2
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Developing a Logic Model

• A strategy to improve program planning and
  evaluation

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What is a Logic Model?

• A Logic Model is a chart or picture of your
  program that shows
• Where you are going what it is you are trying
  to accomplish
• What you need to get there
• How you will get there
• How you will know when you have arrived
• A Logic Model is
• your program
• ROAD MAP

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What is a Logic Model?

• It shows how your program activities will lead to
  the outcomes you want to achieve
• Both short-term outcomes and long-term outcomes
• It is based on your program theory of action
• If we do this..then this will happen

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Components of a Logic Model
Resources
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Components of a Logic Model
Resources or Inputs

• Materials available to the program
• People
• Community assets
• Organizational

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Components of a Logic Model
Activities
Resources

• What the program does with the resources
• Events
• Processes
• Actions
• Interventions

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Components of a Logic Model
Outputs
Resources
Activities

• Direct products or results of program activities
• of program participants
• Types of services
• Targets of services
• of services

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Components of a Logic Model
Short Long-Term Outcomes
Resources
Activities

• Changes in program participants
• Behavior
• Knowledge
• Skills

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Components of a Logic Model
Impact
Resources
Activities

• Long-term change in community, system, or
  organization that occurs as a result of the
  program

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Components of a Logic Model
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Program Theory of Action
S o m a l i C h i l d r e n
S o m a l i W o m e n

• Mental Health
• Self-Esteem
• Self Efficacy

• Mental Health
• Emotional functioning
• Social functioning

Social Support
Parenting Competence
Coping Self-Healing Skills
Reduction in Mental Illness Symptoms
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Strategies to Accomplish Objectives

• STRATEGY 1 TRAIN GROUP FACILITATORS Develop
  the capacity of 45 Somali women living in 12- 15
  geographic locations in the Twin Cities to
  organize and facilitate Womens Support Circles.
• STRATEGY 2 PROVIDE GROUPS Organize and provide
  Womens Support Circles in 12 geographic areas in
  the Twin Cities where concentrations of Somalis
  live as a way to strengthen social and
  psychological resources, reduce mental illness
  symptoms and mental disorders, and enhance
  parenting competence of Somali refugee women.

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Strategy 1 Develop the capacity of 45 Somali
women living in 15 geographic locations in the
Twin Cities to organize and facilitate Womens
Support Circles for other Somali women
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Strategy 2 Organize and provide Womens Support
Circles in geographic areas in the Twin Cities
where concentrations of Somalis live to
strengthen the social psychological resources
of Somali women, and build their knowledge and
skills about parenting
IMPACT Somali refugee children and their
parents are mentally healthy and function
competently in age-appropriate life domains.
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References

• W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Using Logic Models to
  Bring Together Planning, Evaluation, Action
  Logic Model Development Guide, 2001.
  http//www.wkkf.org/Pubs/Tools/Evaluation/Pub3669.
  pdf
• Kirby, Douglas. BDI Logic Models A Useful Tool
  for Designing, Strengthening and Evaluating
  Programs to Reduce Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking,
  Pregnancy, HIV and Other STDs, 2002.
  http//www.etr.org/recapp/BDILOGICMODEL20030924.pd
  f
• Taylor-Powell, Ellen. Logic Models to Enhance
  Program Performance http//www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande
  /evaluation/evallogicmodel.html