G. Reid et al., Drug Treatment Services for Ethnic Communities in Victoria, Australia: an examination of cultural and institutional barriers, ETHN HEALTH, 6(1), 2001, pp. 13-26
Under-representation of ethnic minorities at drug treatment services repres
ents underutilisation rather than a lower need. To explore barriers to drug
treatment among ethnic communities we undertook a comprehensive review of
international and Australian literature to identify problems their members
experience upon the discovery of illicit drug use in their community, how d
rug treatment is addressed and challenges for improved drug treatment outco
mes. The concepts and themes derived from the literature were then compared
with our research findings from key informant interviews and consultations
with non-illicit drug-using spokespersons from eight ethnic communities in
Victoria, Australia. Intense shame and loss of face linked to illicit drug
use was common in ethnic communities and as a consequence seeking help for
drug treatment was fraught with difficulties. Accessing drug treatment ser
vices often occurred following a crisis, but a sense of despair and confusi
on often prevailed owing to a lack of knowledge of available assistance. Ev
en when treatment services were accessed most key informants and ethnic com
munities viewed them as culturally insensitive, inflexible and with languag
e barriers that obstructed the flow of effective information. Understanding
of the ethnic family ethos was of pivotal importance but frequently ignore
d by treatment services, contributing to the exclusion of ethnic communitie
s from appropriate assistance. Ethnic communities need to be assisted to pa
rticipate in drug issue discussions and community development strategies in
order for their utilisation of drug treatment services to be improved.