Ukrainian refugees in Australia by Desdemona

Domain 1: Clinical Practice - My Reflection

35543868 — 2025-08-31 07:26:28 UTC

For me, the most significant aspect of Domain 1.1 of Culturally Responsive Clinical Practice was that I need to sensitive to different-background patients’ cultures without any assumption. I have developed my knowledge of by learning about Ukrainian refugees’ cultures, beliefs, and diet habits. Having learned some Ukrainians follow the Eastern Orthodox faith, I now know I need to pay attention to their culture when provide care. For example, I ought to require for their agreement of remove their cross necklace before helping them shower. This knowledge is essential to me in the workplace because it can reduce potential mistakes and show my professional to patients. Because I am not yet confident with caring people from other backgrounds, I will now need to research more to know them better. Later, I realized respecting patients’ culture and belief can also strength the relationship and build trust between healthcare provider and patients. Alternatively, this could be related to improve myself and offer better healthcare for patients.

End-text reference:

Migrant and Refugee Women's Health Partnership. (2019). Culturally Responsive Clinical Practice: Working with People from Migrant and Refugee Backgrounds. Competency Standards Framework for Clinicians.

Ukrainian Refugees Adaptions and Challenges in Australia

35543868 — 2025-08-31 07:30:12 UTC

“Social inclusion and non-discrimination” is a determinant of the World Health Organisation (WHO) engaged in protecting human health and safety and helping people who need help worldwide (World Health Organization, n.d.). It means accepting all from different backgrounds, without judging the races, cultures or languages, which can promote human well-being and decrease social isolation. Ukrainians in Europe face social exclusion. High expenses, language barrier and severe anxiety prevent Ukrainians from getting timely healthcare, which can damage their health further (Kardas et al., 2025). Compared to Ukrainian refugees resettling in Australia, Australian university reduces Ukrainian students’ feelings of loneliness and stress by offering community-building activities, multicultural events, mental health services and language support (Gorokhova et al., 2025). However, Ukrainian refugees also suffer social exclusion. They can hardly access the university’s cultural activities due to their financial constraints, impairing their sense of belonging and increasing the rate of depression (Gorokhova et al., 2025). In the long term, these challenges would negatively influence Ukrainian students’ studies and lives. In conclusion, fostering social inclusion and eliminating discrimination are essential to refugee health in multicultural Australia.

End-text reference:

Australia Border Force. (2022, February 25). Australia to provide support for Ukrainian nationals. Australian Government. https://www.abf.gov.au/news-media/archive/article?itemId=843

Gorokhova, T., Oleinikova, O., Matveieva, O., Navumau, V., & Matveieva De, O. (2025). Ukrainian students in Australia and Germany, Innovation: The. European Journal of Social Science Research, 38(1), 50–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2025.2469667

Kardas, P., Mogilevkina, I., Aksoy, N., Ágh, T., Garuolienė, K., Lomnytska, M., Istomina, N., Urbanaviče, R., Wettermark, B., & Khanyk, N. (2025). Barriers to healthcare access and continuity of care among Ukrainian war refugees in Europe: Findings from the RefuHealthAccess study. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1516161. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1516161

World Health Organization. (n.d.). What we do. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/about/what-we-do

Traditional medicine of Ukrainians

35543868 — 2025-08-31 07:43:26 UTC

In Ukraine, people regarded herbs as not only a traditional treatment but also the cultural identity, especially in rural areas (Stryamets et al., 2021). Herbs have been developed for many years in Ukraine. Plants like lemon balm for stress, chamomile for digestive disorders, and pot marigold for wounds are commonly used by Ukrainians (Chaloupková & Yevhen Kutsenko, 2021). However, some Ukrainians reject synthetic drugs, since they believe these have side effects and cannot solve any health problems. Also, compared to more expensive synthetic drugs, they think herbal medicines are safer, more effective, and natural (Chaloupková & Yevhen Kutsenko, 2021). Yet, herbal medicines usually take effect over a long time, which would delay the treatment of diseases and make them more severe. As a primary healthcare worker, nurse is an important role to provide health education by notified patients about the benefits and limitations of herbal treatment simultaneously respecting their beliefs and preferences.

End-text reference:

Chaloupková, I., & Yevhen Kutsenko. (2021). Consumer’s attitudes to herbal products in Ukraine. https://theses.cz/id/3n1ec6/zaverecna_prace.pdf?isshlret=healing%3B

Ihnatenko, I. (2021, December 10). Folk Medicine [Photograph]. The Ivan Honchar Museum. https://honchar.org.ua/en/blog/folk-medicine-i178

Stryamets, N., Fontefrancesco, M. F., Mattalia, G., Prakofjewa, J., Pieroni, A., Kalle, R., Stryamets, G., & Sõukand, R. (2021). Just beautiful green herbs: use of plants in cultural practices in Bukovina and Roztochya, Western Ukraine. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-021-00439-y

Mental Health and solutions for Ukrainians

35543868 — 2025-08-31 07:50:17 UTC

Mental health has been a troublesome issue among Ukrainian refugees. A lot of Ukrainians show posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), distress, or anxiety when they arrive in Australia. These problems are mainly caused by the exposure to war conflicts (Roberts et al., 2019). According to the Australian refugee health practice guide, every place is equipped with a specialised torture and trauma counselling service. Initially, patients need to undergo screening. Then, the professionals will build trust with refugees and provide verbal counselling. GP prescribes medication for refugees who have been affected in their daily lives. If they still have severe symptoms, they would be referred to a psychiatrist, psychologist or the specialist service of trauma and torture to have further treatment. Nurses should respect to their culture during the treatment. Many refugees are troubled with trauma, so it is essential for nurses to actively assist them in their recovery.

End-text reference:

Roberts, B., Makhashvili, N., Javakhishvili, J., Karachevskyy, A., Kharchenko, N., Shpiker, M., & Richardson, E. (2019). Mental health care utilisation among internally displaced persons in Ukraine: results from a nation-wide survey. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 28(1), 100–111. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796017000385

The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture. (2025). Management of psychological effects of torture or other traumatic events » Australian refugee health. Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide. https://refugeehealthguide.org.au/psychological-effects-of-torture-trauma/

Vitruk, O., MPH, & University of Washington (UW) Dept of Epidemiology. (2023, July 5). Ukrainian Refugee Mental Health Profile [Photograph]. EthnoMed. https://ethnomed.org/resource/ukrainian-refugee-mental-health-profile/