Conceptualisations of mental illness and stigma in Congolese, Arabic-speaking and Mandarin-speaking communities: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Australia is an ethnically diverse nation. Research has demonstrated an elevated risk of developing a mental illness in culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities yet uptake of mental health services is low. To improve mental health treatment seeking and outcomes for CaLD individuals in Australia there is an urgent need to deeply understand barriers to treatment such as stigma. Using an exploratory qualitative approach, the aim of the study was to explore how CaLD communities’ conceptualise and interpret mental illness and associated beliefs and experiences of stigma. METHODS: The study focused on three key CaLD groups: the Congolese, Arabic-speaking and Mandarin-speaking communities residing in Sydney, Australia. A series of eight focus group discussions (n = 51) and 26 key informant interviews were undertaken online using Zoom during the period of November to December 2021. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analysed using NVivo software. RESULTS: Three major themes were identified. The first theme related to mental illness terminology used in the three communities. Despite variation in the terms used to refer to ‘mental illness’ all three communities generally distinguished between ‘mental illness’, a more severe condition and ‘mental health problems’, considered to arise due to stressors. The second theme centred on beliefs about mental illness; with all three communities identifying migration-related stressors as contributing to mental illness. Culturally related beliefs were noted for the Congolese participants with the perception of a link between mental illness and supernatural factors, whereas Mandarin-speaking participants highlighted lack of inter and intrapersonal harmony and failure to adhere to values such as filial piety as contributing to mental illness. The final theme related to mental illness related stigma and the various ways it manifested in the three communities including presence of collectivist public stigma felt across all three groups and affiliate (family) stigma reported by the Arabic and Mandarin-speaking groups. CONCLUSIONS: We found rich diversity in how these communities view and respond to mental illness. Our findings provide some possible insights on both service provision and the mental health system with a view to building effective engagement and pathways to care. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14849-4.