“We Need Psychological Support”: the information needs and seeking behaviors of African refugees in the United States

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the information needs and seeking behaviors of African refugees in the Midwest United States. The research also investigates the sources participants consulted and their satisfaction with their information seeking and the information found.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research study recruited 18 African refugees to participate in one or more data collection modes used in the study (questionnaire, interview, focus group). The data were analyzed using qualitative open, axial and selective coding approaches to identify themes.FindingsThe analysis of the data collected provides evidence that refugees had specific information needs centered on housing, health care, employment and education. They were not necessarily satisfied with the information they were able to find. Participants reported initially relying heavily on their caseworkers as sources of information when they first arrived in the United States until they were able to establish larger networks of contacts, which then expanded their information behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of participants and regional focus of the study do not allow for generalization of the findings to all African refugees in the United States. Still, the findings shed light on how to better serve the information needs of African refugees to help them adjust to life in their new environment.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study provide guidance for agencies that assist African refugees in adjusting to life in the United States.Originality/valueThis study represents one of the few investigations of the information needs and seeking behaviors of African refugees in the United States.

Information seeking for coping with cancer: a systematic review

“…Information seeking behaviour during life-changing events has received great attention within the field of information behaviour including the information needs and seeking behaviours of refugees (Hassan and Wolfram, 2020), concerned working students during a haze crisis (Pang, 2014) and during extreme weather (Silver and Andrey, 2019). Health information seeking behaviour is an area where the information an individual finds impact their lifestyle and health behaviours in both long and short terms (Zhang, 2012).…”

“They act like we are going to heaven”: pre-arrival information experiences, information crafting and settlement of immigrants in Canada

“…A recent study by Mansour (2018) on Syrian refugees displaced to Egypt revealed Syrian refugees' heavy dependence and preferences for information sources such as friends and family. In the U.S., Hassan and Wolfram (2020) investigated the information needs and seeking behaviors of African refugees in the Midwest United States. The participants reported requiring information related to housing, health care, employment and education and relied heavily on their caseworkers employed as sources of information after their arrival in the United States.…”

Conceptualizing Relevance of Information as a Social Justice Issue: An Interactive Panel Discussion

“…When both groups arrive to the host country, they recognize an urgent need for information about housing, transportation, education, employment, social services, and healthcare. They are bound to receiving information from their small world (e.g., family, friends, ethnic society members) through informal channels, or through limited access to the outside world via formal sources of information (e.g., medical professionals, lawyers, social workers, mass media, public libraries, non‐governmental organizations, detention centers, refugee camps) (Fisher, Durrance & Hinton, 2004; Hassan & Wolfram, 2020; Oduntan & Ruthven, 2020; Solberg & Peters, 2020; Wang, Huang, Li, & Chen, 2020; Zimmerman & Beam, 2020; Zimmerman, 2018).…”