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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