Ahmed Alif, NYU, Astoria, NY (USA)
Veera Mookerjee, Resolveera, Mamaroneck, NY (USA)
Nadia Reedwan, Rotary E-heritage, New York, NY (USA)

This session explores how cultural stigma, gender norms, and structural barriers impact Bangladeshi immigrant mothers' engagement with parenting and mental health interventions. Using an implementation science lens, it examines the gap between efficacy and real-world effectiveness, highlighting strategies for culturally tailored, community-driven interventions. Attendees will gain practical tools for enhancing service accessibility, feasibility, and sustainability, ensuring interventions align with the lived experiences of immigrant communities.

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Presentation Description:

This presentation explores the intersection of cultural stigma, gender norms, and structural barriers that shape the mental health and parenting experiences of Bangladeshi immigrant mothers in the United States. Grounded in implementation science, the session examines how existing evidence-based mental health and parenting interventions may demonstrate high efficacy in controlled settings but fail to achieve effectiveness when cultural, linguistic, and structural barriers remain unaddressed. Drawing from qualitative research on the epistemologies of parenting and child-rearing among Bangladeshi immigrant mothers in New York City, the presentation will highlight the disconnect between intervention feasibility and real-world utilization. One of the most striking findings from this research is that despite the availability of mental health and parenting support within their communities, many Bangladeshi immigrant mothers avoid accessing these services locally due to stigma and fear of social visibility. Instead, they prefer seeking therapy or parenting support outside their immediate neighborhoods to maintain anonymity. This paradox—where culturally and geographically accessible interventions remain underutilized—underscores the critical role of cultural stigma, patriarchal power structures, and systemic inequities in shaping mental health help-seeking behaviors. The session will examine how gender norms, household decision-making power, and self-efficacy in navigating healthcare systems all contribute to intervention uptake or avoidance. The presentation integrates the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Resilience Theory as theoretical frameworks to explain how Bangladeshi mothers perceive and respond to mental health and parenting interventions. The HBM provides insight into how stigma, perceived benefits, and barriers influence engagement, while Resilience Theory highlights the ways in which mothers adapt despite systemic and structural challenges. Additionally, the presentation will introduce key implementation science strategies to improve intervention design, including acceptability and feasibility assessments, community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches, and culturally tailored intervention frameworks. By examining practical approaches for increasing accessibility—such as confidentiality-focused service delivery, culturally relevant communication strategies, and flexible intervention models—this session will provide attendees with concrete strategies to enhance service engagement. Participants will leave the presentation with a deeper understanding of how cultural stigma, gender norms, and social visibility concerns impact intervention uptake. They will learn how to distinguish between intervention efficacy and real-world effectiveness and apply implementation science frameworks to analyze service accessibility and sustainability. Attendees will also gain practical tools for designing culturally responsive interventions, including strategies to improve outreach, community trust, and structural support for Bangladeshi immigrant mothers. Additionally, they will develop an awareness of self-efficacy, household power dynamics, and community perceptions as critical factors in intervention engagement. The presentation will actively engage participants through case vignettes, live polling, small group discussions, and Q&A sessions, ensuring an interactive learning experience. Participants will analyze real-world intervention barriers and collaborate on culturally responsive solutions. They will also engage in practice-oriented scenarios, applying implementation science concepts to intervention planning. By bridging theory, research, and practice, this session equips mental health professionals, social workers, researchers, and policymakers with the knowledge and tools necessary to design equitable, community-driven interventions that address the unique needs of Bangladeshi immigrant mothers navigating mental health and parenting challenges.

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