Refugee Resettlement Programmes as Potential Mental Health Promoting Settings? A Qualitative Study of Resettlement Staff's Constructions of Refugees' Mental Health in Everyday Episodes

In order to investigate the potential of refugee resettlement programmes as mental healthpromoting settings, this study examines resettlement staff's constructions of refugees' health in everyday episodes within the resettlement programme. Everyday episodes relating to refugees' health were collected through individual and group interviews with 28 members of staff, and analysed using grounded theory methodology. The constructions of health in these episodes focused on mental health, the latter understood as a concept stressing the dynamic fit between person, programme and external environment. If a comprehensive strategy focusing on creating mental health among refugees through inter-sectoral co-ordination is developed, resettlement programmes can probably be developed into mental health-promoting settings. The model proposed in this paper could be a good starting point to further this programme and policy development.