Ilse Blignault|Hend Saab|Lisa Woodland|Haider Mannan|Arshdeep Kaur
Effectiveness of a Community-based Group Mindfulness Program tailored for Arabic and Bangla-speaking Migrants
Western Sydney University|South Eastern Sydney Local Health District|South Eastern Sydney Local Health District|Western Sydney University|Western Sydney University
abstract background migrant communities often underserved mainstream mental health services resulting high rates untreated psychological distress collaborative study built evidence mindfulnessbased interventions delivered inlanguage culturally tailored acceptable clinically effective arabic speakers australia aimed establish whether group mindfulness program produced expected outcomes normal operational conditions test scalability transferability bangla speakers methods 5week mindfulness program delivered 15 arabicspeaking 8 banglaspeaking groups community settings mixedmethods evaluation incorporated prepost study descriptive statistics used summarise sociodemographic data group attendance home practice differences dass 21 k10 scores pre postintervention tested using nonparametric sign test paired samples twosided multiple linear regression analysis performed determine effects selected sociodemographic variables group attendance home practice clinical outcomes based intention treat content analysis used examine qualitative data results program attracted 168 arabic speakers 103 bangla speakers aged 16 years mostly women cultural acceptability evident overall 80 completion rate 78 arabic speakers 84 bangla speakers retained language groups showed clinically statistically significant improvements mental health outcomes dass21 k10 thirty new referrals made mental health services participant feedback emphasised benefits everyday lives one participant reported sharing mindfulness skills others conclusions across multiple diverse groups arabic bangla speakers sydney communitybased group mindfulness program shown high levels cultural acceptability relevance resulted clinically statistically significant improvements mental health outcomes facilitated access mental health care boosted mental health literacy innovative lowintensity inlanguage mental health intervention originally developed arabic speakers scalable also transferablewith cultural tailoringto bangla speakers