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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Sergut Wolde-Yohannes, MEd, Magda Ahmed, EdD, Halima Ali, MA, Bana Abubakar, MS, Samia Mafal, MA, Marisa Chiang, MPH, Thinh Nguyen, Dejene Ayele, MPH, and Jennifer Cochran, MPH. Refugee and Immigrant Health Program, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 305 South St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, 6179836594, sergut.wolde-yohannes@state.ma.us

Refugee health programs need to be responsive to the dynamics of resettlement, which include fluctuations in arrival number and ethnicity. Resettlement of Somali Bantu refugees from Kenyan camps began in Massachusetts in mid-2003. Through June 2005, there were 436 arrivals, with 55% under the age of 15. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Refugee and Immigrant Health Program (RIHP) combines health status data from overseas medical examinations and domestic health assessments with information from national resources, local partners, community members and RIHP outreach educators to identify priorities for public health services and make recommendations for the service delivery system.

Health assessment data indicate the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection increases with age on arrival, ranging from 11.5% in young children to over 50% in adults. The hepatitis B surface antigen prevalence rate was 3.9%. Anemia (based on 1998 CDC MMWR, “Recommendations to Prevent and Control Iron Deficiency in the United States”) was noted among 52% of all Bantu refugees, including 67% of pre-adolescent children. Among 125 children under 7 years of age, 19% had elevated blood lead levels (>10 mcg/dL). Additional findings such as low levels of literacy and limited experience with Western health care highlight the need for health services that assure language and culture access for all age groups.

RIHP, through its bilingual and bicultural community outreach educators, provides direct services to refugees in Massachusetts. The Program collaborates with numerous partners to increase access to public health services and improve the general health status of the refugee population.

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

• Recognize primary health concerns for newly arrived Somali Bantu refugees
• Identify key elements for a collaborative service delivery system intersecting multiple agencies
• Articulate an outreach service delivery model that increases access to public health services

Keywords: Refugees, Public Health Service

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation