Adolescent Burmese Refugees Perspectives on Determinants of Health

Abstract

Over 70,000 Burmese refugees have resettled in the United States in the past decade. While Burmese adolescents quickly acculturate into American society, their perspectives on health are not well-known. The purpose of this study was to identify adolescent Burmese refugee perspectives on determinants of health and health-related experiences after resettlement. In this qualitative study, Burmese adolescents took photographs depicting health-related experiences that were used as elicitation tools during focus groups. These discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes. Participants described positive determinants of health, including family and church. Rampant tobacco use was identified by the participants as a determinant of poor health within the Burmese community. Notably, the participants were proud to serve as liaisons within their community, despite the stressful nature of this role. Our results highlight the need to screen this population for anxiety, secondary to serving as a liaison for their community, as well as tobacco use.

Health disparities among Burmese diaspora: an integrative review

“…As expected, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and somatization were widespread among the diaspora of all ages. 12 , 15 , 17 , 28 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 43 , 56 Surprisingly, Zuniga 17 found that the depression among refugees worsened after host country resettlement. Schweitzer et al 28 estimated a greater refugee mental health problem than the host country's general population.…”

“…A growing body of literature addressing resettled Burmese refugees indicated that this population continues to suffer marginalization, limited access to health care, and poor health outcomes even in Western countries. 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 While democracy was underway in Burma under Aung San Suu Kyi's leadership, the increased enforcement of repatriation and restrictions on third-country resettlement evoked additional fear and anxiety among the diaspora. 5 , 34 , 35 The multifaceted health concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated the diaspora's pre-existing conditions.…”

“I Hate the Word ‘Liver’”: A Photovoice Study of Burmese and Bhutanese Adolescent Health Care Brokers in Northeast Ohio

“…On the other hand, teens have reported health care brokering as a positive experience when they felt needed, important, or gave voice to their parents (Bauer, 2016; Katz, 2014; Orellana & Phoenix, 2017). They felt proud (Banas et al, 2017; Bauer, 2016; Dixit et al, 2017); dutiful or loyal (Crafter et al, 2017; Katz, 2014); and had a greater sense of self-efficacy (Wu & Kim, 2009).…”

“…Using photographs and focus group follow-up, photovoice is meant to reach, inform, and organize community members, enabling them to discuss and prioritize problems and solutions. This method has been used to study adolescent immigrants (Adekeye et al, 2014; Roxas et al, 2017), children in refugee camps (Oh, 2011), migrants (Moskal, 2017), and resettled refugees (Dixit et al, 2017; Vecchio et al, 2017).…”

Perspectives on Working with Immigrants Held in Detention Using Photovoice

“…Photovoice has been used as a tool in various social justice initiatives, including those aimed at combatting racial injustice and homelessness [22]. It has also been used amongst various immigrant groups to explore assets and challenges [23,24]. To our knowledge, however, there have been no studies on the experiences of volunteers working with immigrants in detention center settings.…”