Press Release 
**For Immediate Release** 
September 16, 2002

 From the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence and the Canadian Women’ s
Health Network:

Immigrant, Refugee and Visible Minority Women Experience Post Traumatic 
Stress Disorder, Study Finds

A new study released by the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence 
reports that immigrant, refugee and visible minority women often suffer from 
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and that physicians and psychiatrists do not 
appear to recognize symptoms of this disorder among their clients.
Immigrant and refugee women often come from war-torn countries and may have 
been exposed to disaster, incidents of extreme trauma, and continued gender 
oppression. The process of migration and the experiences of settlement as 
an immigrant in Canada may also add to the distress and trauma.
The study of trauma, and in particular, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is of 
relevance to policy makers, health professionals and other community workers 
because of the ongoing arrival and settlement of new immigrant and refugee 
women from many parts of the world. In their own words, women in the study 
describe how health professionals are often unfamiliar with Post Traumatic 
Stress Disorder.
The report, which focuses on the experiences of women in Saskatchewan, 
provides excerpts from the stories recounted by immigrant and refugee women 
and information about how they addressed their experiences with community 
based services, what was useful to them in their healing, and what the 
barriers were.
Conducted under the auspices of the Immigrant, Refugee and Visible Minority 
Women of Saskatchewan, this study highlights the need for policy makers, 
medical practitioners, mental health workers and other community providers 
to improve services to address the mental health needs of immigrants and 
refugees.

Full study details are available at: http://www.pwhce.ca/ptsd-immigrant.htm

Prof. Judy White will present the study findings at a community 
presentation, ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Lived Experience of 
Immigrant, Refugee, and Visible Minority Women’ at the University of 
Winnipeg, October 1, 11:45 ­ 2 p.m. in Room 2M70.
Sponsored by the Immigrant Women’s Association of Manitoba, The Centre for 
War Affected Families and the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence. 
For more information contact (204) 982-6632.


For more details or interviews with study authors please contact:
Prof. Judy White, Principal Investigator 
Faculty of Social Work, University of Regina 
Email: [log in to unmask] 
Phone: (306) 664-7375

Margaret Haworth-Brockman, Director 
Prairie Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health 
Email: [log in to unmask] 
Phone: (204) 982-6630; Fax: (204) 982-6637 
Website: http://www.pwhce.ca

Kathleen O’Grady, Director of Communications 
Canadian Women’s Health Network 
Email: [log in to unmask] 
Phone: (514) 886-2526; Fax: (204) 989-2355 
Website: http://www.cwhn.ca

Mona Dupré-Ollinik, BSW, BA
Coordonatrice de liaison/Outreach Coordinator
Canadian Women's Health Network/Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes
419, avenue Graham, Suite 203
Winnipeg (MB) R3C 0M3

Tel: (204) 942-5500 ext,/poste 13
Fax/Télécopieur: (204) 989-2355
Toll free/Numéro sans frais: 1-888-818-9172
www.cwhn.ca 
e-mail/courriel: [log in to unmask]

TTY 204-942-2806 
TTY toll free number 1-866-694-6367

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