230735 Developing a profile of refugee primary care access and delivery needs in Pima County, Arizona

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Deborah Jean McClelland, MLS , Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Justin Egoville, MSN , College of Nursing, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Natasha Korosteleva , Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Patricia Auflick, MLS , Arizona Health Sciences Library, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Jennifer Barischoff, MPH , The International Rescue Committee, Tucson, Tucson, AZ
Margaret Guerrero, MLS , Pima County Public Library, Martha Cooper Branch, Tucson, AZ
Kathleen May, DNSc, PHCNS-BC, RN , College of Nursing, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Bushra Faesal , College of Public Health, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Nara Subedi , College of Public Health, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Deko Hussein , College of Public Health, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Refugees are resettled into Pima County at a rate of 600-800 annually, and an estimated 1,000 in 2009. Coming from every continent and diverse backgrounds, and speaking a range of languages, including Arabic, Kirundi, Somali, Mai Mai and Nepalese, they all hold in common a need to navigate an unfamiliar and complex primary care delivery system. The challenges some refugee groups face in this process, and those encountered by health and human service agencies in providing optimal services to them are documented qualitatively in this study. A Refugee Primary Care Work Group composed of faculty and graduate students from the University of Arizona schools of public health, nursing, library science, and health sciences library, community service providers from the county health department and public library, and representatives of refugee groups and of volunteer agencies responsible for refugee resettlement was convened specifically to guide and support the project. The study included a survey on service delivery challenges and training needs of primary care providers which identified a range of refugees' priority and unmet needs, and subsequently the group interviews with refugees regarding their experience in accessing primary care services, and their recommendations for optimizing the health care delivery system. The group interviews elicited health concerns, barriers to accessing services, and recommendations for improving outreach and services. Findings will contribute to policy recommendations for improving service outreach and delivery, developing orientations for providers serving refugee clients, and orientations for refugee clients in utilizing the health care system in Pima County.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Identify challenges faced by primary care providers when serving refugees in Pima County. List systemic challenges faced by refugees when learning about and navigating health services in Pima County. Describe the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration in advocating for system change to improve accessibility and delivery of primary care services to refugees.

Keywords: Participatory Action Research, Health Care Access

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator on the project being presented
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.