A. Analysis: The barrier to healthcare access for refugees is primarily communication, along with cultural barriers, lack of knowledge, and transportation issues.
i. According to G. Kahn, most refugees come to the US with no knowledge of the English language. The refugees come with no support system as they come with the clothing on their backs and only the belongings that they can carry on a plane. They have no jobs, no transportation, and no healthcare in place, and they come to the US with medical and psychological issues from their country of origin. They are lost in this modern society; they are unsure of where to turn and how to learn to live in this culture. (G. Kahn, personal communication, August 15, 2016)
In 2015, there were 69,933
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Values, beliefs, and perceptions within the community: values and beliefs differ based on individual culture, health issues sometimes are not discussed based on culture. iv. Physical Environment: Refugees live in obtained housing by sponsoring agency. These homes are often not in very safe areas, they need to be accessible to public transportation that can take them to jobs, shopping, and clinics.
v. Economics: Refugees come to the US with very little, they rely on grants and sponsoring until they can obtain jobs to support themselves and their families. Refugees come with little or no English making it difficult to make their way in this society. (G. Kahn, personal communication, August 15, 2016) vi. Health: General health depends on the country of origin, the healthcare system in place there and the refugees access to healthcare there. The sponsoring agency receives a health status report before the refugee comes to the US in order to jumpstart healthcare needs. Approximately 69% of asylum seekers are found to suffer from depression, PTSD, and other psychological symptoms, such as avoidance, isolation, difficulty concentrating, and feeling sad (Asgary, Charpentier, & Burnett, 2012, p. 963, para
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Communication: Refugees come as non-English speakers; they are required to attend English language classes. There are taboos regarding health topics that refugees will not discuss. According to the Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the most common languages spoken by refugees are Arabic, Nepali, Somali, Sgaw Karen, Spanish, Chaldean, Burmese, Armenian, and Kiswahili, these languages are spoken by approximately 42,076 of the total refugee population admitted to the US in 2015 (Top 10 Languages Spoken by Arrived Refugees, 2016). xii. Recreation: Sponsoring agencies host park and recreation days, refugee days, summer camps for children, and sports teams for adolescents.
B. Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths: refugees are survivors, willing to learn, willing to relocate for a better life, they will ask for help, they form a community, willingness to work, prior education, sponsoring agency support with education, work placement, health care.
Weaknesses: lack of English, differences in culture, lack of knowledge of US culture, isolation, lack of employment, lack of money, lack of health insurance, lack of time management, unfamiliarity with modern society, lack of schooling, lack of support
I know numerous East Africans and other minorities who fear and put off going to the hospital or clinic simply because they feel no one truly understands them on a more personal level and that their needs can’t and won’t be met entirely. According to the American Medical Association over 55% of health care providers agreed that, “minority patients generally receive lower quality health care” due to the lack of cultural competence. Those of different cultural backgrounds feel uneasy due to communication barriers and the lack of cultural competency amongst some health care providers. As a Somali-speaking nurse, I feel Somali patients, along with those of varying cultural backgrounds would be able to establish that sense of ease that’s needed when entering a health care facility or without having to feel the shame of having an interpreter hear about their personal health issues. According to Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence,
According to Penner et al. (2013), there are various causes of healthcare disparities, such as socioeconomic status; this results to poor healthcare services for people with low socioeconomic status, as people with low pay find it difficult to leave their work to seek healthcare help, or to afford healthcare insurance (p.4). The second cause is language proficiency. The language barriers faced by the immigrant plays a role in the healthcare disparities among the racial or ethnic minority patients. Another cause is health literacy. The levels of the health literacy among the foreign born individuals can be influenced by their higher level of distrust of the healthcare providers and healthcare system than they have towards Caucasian people. This, in turn, leads them to seek healthcare information less often than their Caucasian counterparts, thus hindering the provision of quality services, as well as limiting the foreign patients’ ability to manage their health conditions effectively. The foreigners’ failure to easily accept the information provided to them by healthcare providers puts them at risk. Disentangling the role of health literacy in racial healthcare disparities from the effects of racial attitudes and beliefs is often hard (Penner et al,
The life of a refugee is not just a life of trials and ordeals, but also has rewards for those who pushed through the pain.
middle of paper ... ... ly similar to those of the host population, although previous poor access to health care may mean that many conditions have been untreated. Symptoms of psychological distress are common but do not necessarily signify mental illness. Many refugees experience difficulties in expressing health needs and in accessing health care. Poverty and social exclusion have a negative impact on health.
This has led organisations such as Refugee councils and Refugee Action
These issues also include poverty and limited or no access to education, training, mental health and health care resources. Refugees also face persecution and are unable to return to their home in their native country (Villalba, 2009). Mental health counselors need to understand the impact of trauma on their refugee clientele, as they may include physical torture and mental abuse in nature. According to Sue and Sue (2013) counselors will need to address the most salient concerns of refugees, which include safety and loss. The possibility of being, or having been, mentally abused and physically tortured has an impact on their ability to stay in the hosting country. Counselors will be dealing with post-traumatic stress from their client. Equally important is for the counselor to assist the refugee in understanding issues of confidentiality. For Muslim immigrants and refugees, counselors should consider national policies during the counseling process. For example, the two Sudanese sisters’ were able to resolve their religious practice of wearing the hijab and securing employment in a beneficial way. As an advocate for the sisters and other Muslim refugees, it would be helpful to provide them access to resources that educate them in antidiscrimination policies that can protect them against hate crimes and legal resources that can help them seek asylum. In essence, culturally competent practices for counselors working with immigrants and refugees begin with understanding their worldviews, as well the national and international legal issues that confront their
Today, there are over 65 million refugees in the world. That means that one in every 113 people in the world is a refugee. To many, this number may seem extremely alarming. Many refugees struggle to find a place to resettle. America, along with other developed countries, has often been considered dreamland for these displaced people, making many wanting to get out of their war-torn houses and camps. Refugees immigrating to America have been displaced from their original homes, face frustrating immigration policies, and have difficulties starting a new life in a new land.
Refugees like Ha suffer from lack of language skills when moving to a new country, making it a difficult time for these refugees. First off, in the article “Refugee Transitions”, Til wrote, “When we first arrived, my wife was unable to understand any English. Just taking the bus and going to the store was a challenge for her.”(Gurung). Til Gurung’s wife lacked many language skills which
Difference in cultures is another reason for health disparities between the Somali Americans and other non-minority population groups. The majority of healthcare professionals are from the non- minority groups who have cultures that are different from those of the Somali Americans (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). As a result, there are differences in the cultural aspects like language, which limit their access to and utilization of healthcare services
Refugee is an important term and concept existing in international studies. In order to understand the problems confronting refugees, we must first know the definition and the concept of refugee.
The desired outcome would be to make sure that the refugees are able to become productive members of society. The in order to evaluate the progress of those being counseled, we would put the refugees through a screening in order to test the mental health of the refugees with guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is important that the screening show progress so that we do not lose our funding. If there is no progress we will have to implement new activities and do more research on how to effectively reduce mental health issues for refugees.
All refugees can suffer from mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, because of this it is important that both medical experts and refugee help experts understand what it is like for them in order to understand how to help them. Because there are so many refugees fleeing Syria they are loading up into boats, trains, and any other mode of transportation that smugglers can get them into. Reported by CNN news source, there are hundreds of Syrian refugees packing inside of a train traveling to an unknown destination. They boarded the train with their families and children not knowing where they are going to end up, but hoping that they will reach somewhere safe in the end (Damon). These journeys can take a large toll on adults physically, emotionally and mentally because they are risking everything just to have a little bit of hope that they might reach a better place. It is imperative that refugees receive the proper mental health assistance, in the form of, “community-based psychosocial care [,which] must become an integral part of emergency response and of the public health care system created in camps and national services. This will help prevent psychiatric morbidity and accelerate the improvement of the psychosocial functioning of people. Efficiency is increased when the concerned community is involved”
By relooking at the system and allocating resources better, both RMA and SSI can become great resources for refugees seeking coverage. Offering these resources means they need to effectively and consistently provide care to refugees who seek to utilize the system. Effective distribution is going to allow for the best utilization of resources and most consistent
A refugee is defined as an individual who has been forced to leave their country due to political or religious reasons, or due to threat of war or violence. There were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014, 14.4 million under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With the displacement of so many people, it is difficult to find countries willing to accept all the refugees. There are over 125 different countries that currently host refugees, and with this commitment comes the responsibility of ensuring these refugees have access to the basic requirements of life; a place to live, food to eat, and a form of employment or access to education. Currently, the largest cause of refugees is the Syrian civil war, which has displaced over 2.1 million people. As a country of relative wealth, the United States should be able to provide refuge for many refugees, as well as provide monetary support to the refugees that they are not able to receive.
A family, living in a war-torn country, is uprooted from their home and community due to a variety of reasons such as political unrest, famine, and threat danger. This family flees their country in order to seek safety in a neighboring, more stable country. These people are considered refugees. Refugees are not travelers or immigrants because they are displaced due to some devastating reason, whether that is war or persecution. Other countries extend money, resources, and even their land to help resettle refugees out of political and humanitarian obligation. The United States is historically notorious for wanting to remain isolated during certain global events such as each world war. However, the United States began to create and build on refugee