This article reports the results of a descriptive study conducted in Brisbane, the administrative capital of Queensland, Australia. Between December 1996 and July 1997, 139 Thai women completed a structured questionnaire to collect information on their general physical and psychological health, current diseases, the impact of these on daily activities, their use of health services, changes in social, reproductive and physical health, and social and demographic characteristics. Of these women, 17 also participated in in-depth interviews with the first author, which provided further information regarding women’s own opinions and experiences of immigration and health. Mental health emerged as an important issue. Women described the feeling of sadness (mai sa bai jai) when being interviewed. Inability to communicate effectively in English and inability to gain employment were identified as important factors influencing psychological wellbeing. Lack of support and limitations in their relationships with families and friends, and limited options for information through informal social networks, affected their ability to address psychological problems.
Archakoon, T. (1991). Karn prayook chai kraengmue taang saet tha sart nai karn suek sa pramarn karn pracha korn [The modification of economic instruments to estimate the population]. In The Population Council (Ed.), Proceedings of the 1991 Thai national symposium on population studies(pp. 553–572). Bangkok: 21 Century.
2.
Australia, The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia , The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade. (1995). Human rights and progress towards democracy in Burma (Myanmar). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
3.
Australian Bureau of Statistics . (1997a). 1996 Census of population and housing: Selected social and housing characteristics. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
4.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1997b). 1996 Census of population & housing: Ethnicity thematic profile, catalogue no. 2121.3. Brisbane: Australian Bureau Statistics (unpublished data).
5.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1997c). Australian demographic trends 1997, catalogue no. 3102.0. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
6.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . (1996). Australia’s health 1996. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
7.
Bennett, S. A. (1993). Inequalities in risk factors and cardiovascular mortality among Australia’s immigrants. Australian Journal of Public Health, 17, 251–261.
8.
Brockett, L. , & Murray, A. (1994). Thai sex workers in Sydney. In R. Perkins, G. Prestage, R. Sharp, & F. Lovejoy (Eds.), Sex workers in Australia(pp. 27–52). Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
9.
Brown, W. , Bryson, L., Byles, J., Dobson, A., Manderson, L., Schofield, M., & Williams, G. (1996). Establishment of the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health. Journal of Women’s Health, 5(5), 467–472.
10.
Chantavanich, S. (1996). People on the move: Issues and areas of potential research for transnational migration in Thailand and Asia. Journal of Social Research, 19(1), 114–129.
11.
Jick, T. D. (1979). Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods: Triangulation in action. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 602–611.
12.
Kelaher, M. , Williams, G., & Manderson, L. (1998). The effect of partners’ ethnicity on health status and health service utilisation among Filipinas in Australia. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Population Health and the Environment, Chiangmai, 7–12 January 1997.
13.
Khoman, T. (1986). Current trends and future prospects for Thai–American relations. In K. D. Jackson & W. Mungkandi (Eds.), United States–Thailand relations(pp. 305–314). Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California.
14.
LaFromboise, T. , Coleman, H. L. K., & Gerton, J. (1993). Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 114(3), 395–412.
15.
Levan, P. D. (1994). Curtailing Thailand’s child prostitution through an international conscience. American University Journal of International Law and Policy, 9, 869–912.
16.
Manderson, L. (1981). Cultural aspects of loss and grief. New Doctor, 21, 33–36.
17.
Manderson, L. (1990). Introduction: Does culture matter? In J. C. Reid & P. Trompf (Eds.), The health of immigrant Australians(pp. xi–xvii). Sydney: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
18.
Manderson, L. , & Reid, J. C. (1994). What’s culture got to do with it? Race, ethnicity and health. In C. Waddell & A. Petersen (Eds.), Just health(pp. 7–26). Melbourne: Churchill Livingstone.
19.
McDonald, R. , Vechi, C., Bowman, S., & Sanson-Fisher, R. (1996). Mental health status of a Latin American community in New South Wales. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 30(4), 457–462.
20.
McNamara, D. J. (1993). An ethnic, demographic and socio-economic profile of the Thai community in Australia. In I. E. Coughlan (Ed.), The diverse Asian: A profile of six Asian communities in Australia(pp. 85–122). Queensland: Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations, Griffith University.
21.
Medical Outcomes Trust . (1992). How to score the SF-36 Health Survey. Boston: Medical Outcomes Trust.
22.
Minas, I. H. (1990). Mental health in a culturally diverse society. In J. C. Reid & P. Trompf (Eds.), The health of immigrant Australians(pp. 250–287). Sydney: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
23.
Minas, I. H. , Lambert, T. J. R., Kostov, S., & Boranga, G. (1996). Mental health services for NESB immigrants: transforming policy into practice. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
24.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. London: Sage.
25.
Pelto, P. J. , & Pelto, G. H. (1992). Anthropological research: The structure of inquiry. New York: Cambridge University Press.
26.
Powles, J. , & Gifford, S. (1990). How healthy are Australia’s immigrants? In J. C. Reid & P. Trompf (Eds.), The health of immigrant Australians(pp. 77–107). Sydney: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
27.
Purisinsith, V. , & Jirapatarapimol, B. (1993). Pawakarn taamngarn uttasahakarm khon satri kaab karn plaenplaeng kwaam sampan nai krob kroaw [Working condition of females in factories and changes of family relationships]. Chiangmai: Faculty of Sociology, Chiangmai University.
28.
Stalker, P. (1994). The work of strangers: A survey of international labour migration. Geneva: International Labour Office.
29.
Thailand, Office of the Prime Minister . (1979). Thailand into the 80s. Bangkok: Office of the Prime Minister.
30.
Trauer, T. (1995). Ethnic differences in the utilisation of public psychiatric services in an area of suburban Melbourne. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 29, 615–623.
31.
Unger, L. (1986). Current trends and future prospects for U.S.–Thai relations: A U.S. perspective. In K. D. Jackson & W. Mungkandi (Eds.), United States–Thailand relations(pp. 315–332). Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California.
32.
White, R. W. (1974). Strategies of adaptation: An attempt at systematic description. In G. V. Coelho, D. A. Hamburg, & J. E. Adams (Eds.), Coping and Adaptation(pp. 47–68). New York: Basic Books.
33.
Woelz-Stirling, N. , Kelaher, M., & Manderson, L. (1998). Power and politics of abuse: Rethinking violence in Filipina–Australian marriages. Health Care for Women International19: 101–113.
