Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Jessica R. Goodkind, PhD¹, Ann Githinji, MS¹, Chao Sio, BS, and Jason Radak, MS³. (1) Center for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, University of New Mexico, MSC11 6145, Albuquerque, NM 87131, 505-272-4462, agithinji@salud.unm.edu, (2) Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, MSC01-1040, Albuquerque, NM 87131

In order to promote the well-being of refugees who resettle in the U.S., it is important to adopt a holistic perspective and address change at multiple levels. This requires a balanced focus on immediate relief and long-term change. However, the urgency of refugees' situation often directs our efforts and attention to immediate service provision rather than to creating sustainable change. A social justice/human rights model can provide a guiding theoretical framework because it involves meeting the direct material needs of refugees; facilitating a process of collective action that empowers refugees and supports the development of local social structures; and creating social change (e.g., advocating for more just health policies, transforming existing communities and contexts to be more receptive to refugees). A social justice model emphasizes a shift from personal pathology to access to resources and empowerment. An innovative mental health intervention, which brings together refugee families and undergraduate students to engage in mutual learning, advocacy, and the strengthening of intergenerational relationships, will be presented. Using growth curve modeling of data collected at 4 time points, results from a pilot study with 27 Hmong refugee families indicated that participants in the intervention had increased access to resources, English proficiency, citizenship knowledge, quality of life, and decreased psychological distress. In addition, increased access to resources mediated increased quality of life. These results, as well as a current study that involves adapting the intervention for African refugees, will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: