Exploring community capacity: Karen refugee women’s mental health

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to describe Karen refugee women’s experience of resettlement and the factors which structured community capacity to support their mental health and well-being. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A postcolonial and feminist standpoint was used to bring Karen women’s voice to the knowledge production process. Data were collected through ethnographic field observation, in-depth semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with Karen women as well as healthcare and social service providers. FINDINGS: Three interrelated themes emerged from the data: Karen women’s construction of mental health as “stress and worry”; gender, language and health literacy intersected, shaping Karen women’s access to health care and social resources; flexible partnerships between settlement agencies, primary care and public health promoted community capacity but were challenged by neoliberalism. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Karen women and families are a diverse group with a unique historical context. Not all the findings are applicable across refugee women. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This paper highlights the social determinants of mental health for Karen women and community responses for mitigating psychological distress during resettlement. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Public health policy requires a contextualized understanding of refugee women’s mental health. Health promotion in resettlement must include culturally safe provision of health care to mitigate sources of psychological distress during resettlement. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This research brings a postcolonial and feminist analysis to community capacity as a public health strategy.