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

Abstract #116916

Mahmooda Khaliq, MHS, Sirad Abdirahman, MPH, and Diana DuBois, MPH, MIA. Minnesota International Health Volunteers (MIHV), 122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite #522, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2480, 612-230-3251, mkhaliq@mihv.org

Somalis began arriving in the United States in 1993 as a result of civil war and the subsequent collapse of the Somali government. Today, Minnesota has one of the largest concentrations of Somali immigrants/ refugees with population estimates ranging from 20,000 to 50,000.

In Somalia, women have approximately 7-8 live births, but typically not all of their children survive beyond the first year. The infant mortality rate in Somalia is high: 125 per 1,000 births, compared with 7 per 1,000 births in the United States. It is expected that Somali women will experience lower infant mortality rates in Minnesota because of improved access to comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care. As infant mortality rates decline within this population, family planning has become a critical reproductive health issue for Somali women and the healthcare workers that serve them.

To address this need, Minnesota International Health Volunteers (MIHV) launched an innovative evidence-based program employing a three-pronged approach of conducting community-based research, and health education and communication. The Somali Family Planning/Child Spacing Program initially conducted focus groups with Somali community members to ascertain barriers to care and their level of knowledge on family planning/child spacing. Using this information program staff provide culturally appropriate family planning education to Somali refugees and the health care providers that serve them. Honoring Somali oral traditions the program works closely with cable TV outlets and uses illustrative health education materials. Additionally, the program works with health care providers by conducting cultural competence trainings and creating linkages between communities.

Learning Objectives:

• List 3 barriers that Somali women face when trying to access family planning services.
• Describe how focus group methodologies can be successfully used to identify program activities.
• Describe 4 key steps needed to implement a culturally and linguistically appropriate family planning program for Somali refugees.

Keywords: Family Planning, 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.