Access to Healthcare Among US Adult Refugees: A Systematic Qualitative Review

Ho, Chi H.; H., Denton, Andrea; Blackstone, Sarah; Saif, Nadia; MacIntyre, K.; Ozkaynak, Mustafa; Valdez, Rupa S.; Hauck, Fern R.

doi:10.1007/s10903-023-01477-2

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Refugee women are particularly vulnerable to poor health outcomes due to the extreme circumstances they endured as they ed their homeland and settled in a new country [8,9]. Resettled refugees in the U.S. face challenges with healthcare navigation, language barriers, and complicated, fragmented funding sources for healthcare [10]. For women of reproductive age, pregnancy poses certain risks to their health that can be exacerbated through the migration process [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s Different Here” Afghan Refugee Maternal Health Experiences in the United States

Worabo,

Safi,

Gill

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background: The number of Afghan families in the U.S. has grown over the past two decades, yet there is a paucity of research focused on their healthcare experiences. Afghan families have one of the highest fertility rates in the world and typically have large families. As the U.S. faces rising maternal mortality rates, it is crucial to understand factors that affect health outcomes for culturally distinct groups. We aimed to better understand Afghan women’s experiences of giving birth in the U.S. and to identify protective and risk factors that affect Afghan women’s reproductive health. Methods: Twenty Afghan women who had given birth in the U.S. within the past two years participated in audio-recorded interviews. The first and second authors conducted each interview using a semi-structured interview guide. The authors used a deductive, in vivo coding method to analyze the transcribed narrative data. Results: We identified three over-arching categories with corresponding sub-categories: 1) Healthcare: pregnancy, birthing, and postpartum, 2) Culture: communication, husband, and family, 3) Access to Care: transportation, financial, and insurance. The participants expressed perspectives of gratefulness and positive experiences, yet some described stories of poor birth outcomes that led to attitudes of mistrust and disappointment. Distinct cultural preferences were shared, providing invaluable insights for healthcare providers. Conclusions: The fact that the Afghan culture is strikingly different than the U.S. mainstream culture can lead to stereotypical assumptions, poor communication, and poor health outcomes. The voices of Afghan women should guide healthcare providers in delivering patient-centered, culturally sensitive maternity care that promotes healthy families and communities. The women’s stories highlight risk factors, including communication barriers, discordant cultural values, lack of social/community networks, and lack of transportation/healthcare navigation. The protective factors to nurture are attitudes of gratefulness and resilience, strong husband support, commitment to breastfeeding, openness to child spacing, and desire to learn more.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s Different Here” Afghan Refugee Maternal Health Experiences in the United States

Worabo,

Safi,

Gill

et al. 2024

Preprint

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A scoping review on occupational therapy services with forcibly displaced individuals in low to middle income countries

Hassan,

Paruk,

Gordhan

et al. 2024

Discov Soc Sci Health

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This study underscores the distinctive role of occupational therapy in advancing the health and wellbeing of forcibly displaced individuals (FDIs), who often encounter contextual and systemic barriers and medical complications that prevent them from engaging in daily tasks. These injustices can be mitigated through health promotion and prevention strategies that aim to enhance participation in daily life activities. There has been limited research in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) in relation to occupational therapy services for FDIs despite most FDIs originating from LMICs. To address this gap, this study adopted Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for a scoping review to consolidate existing knowledge on the occupational therapy health promotion and prevention of disease and disability services for FDIs in LMICs. Searches were conducted on six online databases. Six studies aligned with the inclusion criteria. Findings revealed that most occupational therapy services are directed towards refugees in Jordan, which contains one of the largest refugee camps. FDIs from Africa and internally displaced people receive the least number of interventions. The occupational therapy services outlined in the six sources primarily consist of health education talks, early childhood interventions, and health promotion activities centred around various occupations such as work and sports groups. Recommendations for policy guidelines include incorporating occupational therapy services within the stipulated FDI services. Our approach aims to situate the contribution of occupational therapy health promotion and prevention of disease and disability services within the broader context of FDIs’ overall health and wellbeing.

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