Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113974

Mary Lou Bost, DrPH, RN and Michele J. Upvall, PhD, FNP. School of Nursing, Carlow University, 3333 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, 412-578-6104, bostml@carlow.edu

The city of Pittsburgh is a resettlement location for approximately 180 Somalian refugees who had been forced to migrate from their own country. As part of the Community Health Nursing undergraduate clinical coursework at Carlow University, a group of nursing student completed community assessments, home visits and interventions with Somali families who were newly arrived in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore nursing students' experiences and perceptions of their clinical visits with these Somalian refugees. Prior to student contact with the refugees, focus groups were conducted with each clinical group to determine student expectations. Additionally, students documented their experiences and wrote reflection papers. Finally, focus groups were held at the end of the course. Barriers, facilitating factors and realistic strategies were identified. Findings and recommendations can be utilized in the further development of community health experiences for students, and to prepare students to work more effectively with the refugee populations.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Identify the barriers and facilitating factors in student experiences with refugee populations.
• Identify the effect of prior life-experience and perception on clinical experiences with refugee populations.
• Recognize the effect that the degree of assimilation of the refugee population has on the students’ clinical experiences.
• Identify the strategies which proved helpful in working with the refugees.
• Apply the recommendations made from the study to student experiences at other locations.

Keywords: Nursing Education, Refugees

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.