Examining Health Care Access for Refugee Children and Families in the North Carolina Triangle Area.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Resettled refugees are at increased risk of poor health outcomes due to
acculturation challenges, logistical barriers, experiences of trauma, and other barriers
to care that are poorly understood. Refugee children may be particularly vulnerable
due to disruptions in health, well-being, education, and nutrition during the resettlement
process.METHOD To describe the health care barriers facing refugees in the North Carolina
Triangle area (comprised of Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and their surrounding areas),
we conducted three focus group interviews (in Arabic, French, and Swahili) with 25
refugee parents from Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, and Chad. We also administered a survey to nine organizations that provide
services for refugees.RESULTS Focus group responses highlighted the multidimensional
nature of health care barriers for refugee families and children, encompassing challenges
with acculturation, communication, transportation, finances, and health literacy.
Organizations emphasized similar challenges and described their efforts to improve
access to services through increased communication, coordination, and seeking new
financial support for programs.LIMITATIONS Given the geographic focus of the study,
results may not be generalizable to other populations and settings. Men spoke more
than women in some focus groups, and participants may have been influenced by more
vocal contributors. Furthermore, this study is limited by a lack of health outcomes
data.CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that the health care needs of refugees living
in the North Carolina Triangle area can be better met by providing comprehensive,
coordinated, and culturally relevant care. This could include minimizing the number
of visits by integrating multiple services under one roof, providing trauma-informed
interpreters, and offering accessible transportation services.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21912Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.18043/ncm.81.6.348Publication Info
Hunter, Kelly; Knettel, Brandon; Reisinger, Deborah; Ganapathy, Pranav; Lian, Tyler;
Wong, Jake; ... Esmaili, Emily (2020). Examining Health Care Access for Refugee Children and Families in the North Carolina
Triangle Area. North Carolina medical journal, 81(6). pp. 348-354. 10.18043/ncm.81.6.348. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21912.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Kelly Hunter
Student
Kelly Hunter is a PhD Candidate in Public Policy and Political Science at Duke where
she studies the politics and impact of interventions by international actors on women
in low- and middle-income countries. Her research incorporates, first, a macro approach
by examining why countries contribute to policies that target women. Second, it pursues
a micro approach by examining the politics of implementing these interventions and
policies and their unintended consequences. Hunter is
Brandon Knettel
Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing
Deborah Reisinger
Associate Professor of the Practice of Romance Studies
Deb Reisinger, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of the Practice in Romance Studies, affiliate
faculty in the Duke Global Health Institute, and Associate Director of the Markets
and Management Studies program. She is Director of Duke's Language Outreach Initiatives,
overseeing the Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) program and the
Shared Course Initiative for Less Commonly Taught Languages with UVA and Vanderbilt.
Deb is lea
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