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Background Little is known about the prevalence and correlates of depression among Australian women. This systematic review of depression among women in Australia, the largest identified to date, highlights the prevalence and correlates of depression across the life span. Results The report adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analyses: The PRISMA Statement (PRISMA). Six health related databases were selected: Medline, PsychInfo, SCOPUS, Cinhal, Informit and Cochrane Systematic Reviews. 1,888 initial articles were found, and 111 articles were considered relevant for review. Prevalence rates of depression among women ranged from 2.6% to 43.9%. Higher rates were reported for younger women, or specific population groups. Most significant correlates included, age, adverse life events, tobacco use, sole motherhood, and previous mental health problems. Conclusions Limitations include the scope of the investigation's aims and inclusion criteria, and the failure to identify gender specific data in most studies. Publication bias was likely, given that only papers reported (or translated) in English were included. Despite the breadth of information available, there were noticeable gaps in the literature. Some studies reported on affective disorders, but did not specifically report on depression, it is concluded that each mental illness warrants separate investigation. It was also common for studies to report a total prevalence rate without separating gender. This report recommends that it is vital to separate male and female data. The report concludes that more research is needed among mid-age women, Indigenous women, non-heterosexual women and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Afghan and Iraqi refugees comprise nearly half of all those currently under United Nations protection. As many of them will eventually be resettled in countries outside the region of origin, their long term health and settlement concerns are of relevance to host societies, and will be a likely focus for future research. Since Australia and New Zealand have both accepted refugees for many years and have dedicated, but different settlement and immigration policies, a study comparing the resettlement of two different refugee groups in these countries was undertaken. The purpose of this article is to describe the instrument selection for this study assessing mental health and psychological well being with Afghan and Kurdish former refugees, in particular to address linguistic considerations and translated instrument availability. A summary of instruments previously used with refugee and migrant groups from the Middle East region is presented to assist other researchers, before describing the three instruments ultimately selected for the quantitative component of our study. Findings: The Kessler-10 Psychological Distress Scale (K10), General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale (GPSE), and Personal Well-Being Index (PWI) all showed good reliability (Cronbach's alphas of 0.86, 0.89 and 0.83 respectively for combined language versions) and ease of use even for pre-literate participants, with the sample of 193 refugees, although some concepts in the GPSE proved problematic for a small number of respondents. Farsi was the language of choice for the majority of Afghan participants, while most of the Kurds chose to complete English versions in addition to Farsi. No one used Arabic or Turkish translations. Participants settled less than ten years were more likely to complete questionnaires in Farsi. Descriptive summary statistics are presented for each instrument with results split by gender, refugee group and language version completed. Conclusion: This paper discusses instrument selection for Farsi and Arabic speaking refugee participants from the Middle East and Afghanistan, concluding that the Kessler-10, GPSE scale and PWI were suitable for use with these groups. Suitable language translations are freely available. Our experience with these instruments may help inform other studies with these vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]