Refugee Health Policy Essay

A major domestic problem confronting the United States is directly related to accommodating a health policy for an influx of international refugees, regardless of their legal statuses. The current political climate combined with an increasing number of migrants globally requires extra attention to this policy issue. This topic is important to me because of my own inter-mixed Desi heritage where Pakistan is the second largest country to lead the intake of international refugees at an astounding 1.5 million individuals according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Only after understanding the importance of refugee health policy in American domestic affairs did I realize exactly how problematic this situation is for America in relation to my personal

interests in this topic.
A recent study by the UN shared that due to the lack of linguistically and culturally accessible care, refugees and immigrants have difficulty trusting physicians and Western medicine. The lack of means for communicating medical history, current needs, and personal health issues as well as individual beliefs puts the refugee population subject to several mistakes when administering health policy to them. The issue is easy to understand because the greater part of refugee populations are already in a position where fear gripped them in their homelands and therefore it makes sense for them to be afraid of trusting another government altogether, let alone medical officials who now are diagnosing problems related to their health.
Coupling this policy issue with the fear of getting deported back to a country where war, genocide, and/or military dictatorship have occurred forces refugees to be extra careful of their actions. From personal experience, I recall my family fearing that the information we imprinted onto doctor and hospital documents would relate back to our immigration identification, which could create obstacles for when our legal statuses were getting finalized. While we were not refugees, I remember as a child the emotional toll and frustration I witnessed my parents go through in order to ensure health applications would not cross-link on any other applications especially if they were federally related forms. Moreover, some laws in states such as Ohio hinder refugees from gaining any volume of health care services. Such that a pregnant woman without legal documents cannot acquire hospital services to deliver her child. These states would much rather have a woman and her child die as a result of unsafe delivery rather than pay taxes to cover her in her powerless situation and unfortunately, for the sake of their future, many refugees and immigrants would much rather deal with their health issues in secret than risk their future legal statuses. Having said this, I feel this topic is directly related to me because I have the experience as an immigrant Desi-American woman who is interested in the medical field and was once an immigrant.
On account of religious and cultural comparability these underserved populations find assurance in working with case counselors and doctors who are of their own background, which is why diversity in ethnicity and religion is necessary for future physicians. Medical schools are a part of the solution through their special consideration for applications which clearly advocate diverse cultural and religious awareness.
Overcoming these barriers are pivotal factors for helping refugees and immigrants who feel like aliens in a new country.

Knowing incoming populations likely have health related problems which can be humanely addressed by health professionals from their own cultures is also a reason why physicians should be involved in such a topic. Familiarity creates comfort which is necessary for people who left damaged and war-torn countries and deceitful regimes for welcoming, stable nations in the West. As a first generation immigrant, I have seen fear of entering into a new country first-hand through my parents and grandparents. Because of the cultural difference and lack of education on Western medicine, my parents too were conflicted with the health policies. When my father was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, he hesitated before starting the medical treatments to make him better. Therefore, my interest is two fold not only because of my own background, but because I can’t understand how nations can take in refugees without providing solid social service programs catered to their needs. This is exactly why this policy area needs to be reformed and adjusted to meet the demands of all people residing in

America.
My solution for this policy problem in America is to ensure inclusivity for all refugees by increasing awareness in the immigrant communities which suffer from a lack of knowledge on health and medical related access. By sharing information to our communities, politicians, and policy-makers on the cultural fears that grip new refugees, we can solve this problem by making new Americans feel safe and secure.
Understanding how unsafe the conditions were in the countries refugees left should be clearly be understood by policy-makers so they can be culturally sensitive to the needs of incoming individuals. If this is not done, then we will have an enormous health crisis in the United States because we will accidentally disenfranchise an entire population of people who have already been traumatized by where they came from. As such, I believe that making sure everyone in this country has health care access which does not cross-over legal state or federal lines will be the solution. Keeping our borders safe is as possible as we make it to be, and we can do this by grasping individual differences and providing knowledge on health policy and procedures to all people living in our country.