Treating an invisible population: Providing culturally competent care to newly arrived Liberian refugees

As refugees from post conflict nations continue to settle in North Carolina, new ways of providing competent treatment and care needs to be established. Many African refugees may be viewed as an “invisible” population, as often times they are lumped with the African-American demographic group. “Competent Care” may often refer to the experience of Hispanics, thus funds generated to support cultural understanding in the provision of medical care may be most dedicated towards this area. This presentation is based on fieldwork conducted at the Buduburam Liberian refugee camp in Ghana, West Africa, and experiences drawn from a clinical setting in North Carolina, where the presence of African refugees have presented a challenge to healthcare professionals. The effects of camp life on the health and psychosocial well-being of Liberian refugees living in the camp, and the latter implications on the health and integration needs of newly arrived Liberian refugees living in North Carolina, will be reviewed. Emphasis will be on the challenges these new arrivals face when dealing with psychosocial, financial, and legal needs, in conjunction with non-western notions of illness manifestation. The presentation will also describe ways to educate and encourage clinicians and program planners to become more aware of the post-conflict/camp issues affecting Liberian refugees. The presentation will close with suggestions of effective ways to develop and implement comprehensive and culturally competent initiatives that integrate clinical treatment and care for illness with psychosocial health promotion that is relevant to the cultural well-being of this vulnerable and invisible population.