Toward addressing the prenatal and postpartum needs of refugee women: A pregnancy support group evaluation

Pregnant refugee women resettled to the U.S. face considerable linguistic and cultural barriers to accessing and understanding health information and healthcare necessary to improve the birth experience and promote better birth outcomes. Since 2010 Refugee Health Programs has facilitated a multicultural pregnancy and post-partum support group with the goal of improving maternal health literacy, building capacity to navigate the healthcare system, and decreasing social isolation among pregnant and post-partum refugee women. The first cohort of support group participants met once a week for six months, during which refugee women learned about childbirth options, accessing the healthcare system, breastfeeding, the importance of nutrition, and positive parenting. In response to ongoing interest among refugee women, a second group was implemented in 2011. A qualitative evaluation consisting of twelve semi-structured interviews and two language-specific focus groups was conducted in 2012 to determine if participants' needs were being met by the support group. Language interpretation was provided. Respondents were asked about the relevancy, cultural appropriateness and acceptability of the support group, as well as resultant behavioral changes. Preliminary findings indicate that multi-ethnic support groups aid pregnant and post-partum refugee women in becoming familiar with and accessing the U.S. healthcare system, and that a support group is a viable intervention for disseminating health information and building health literacy within this population. Study limitations included the challenge of conducting interviews and focus groups via interpreter. Rigorous evaluation of innovative efforts to bring health promotion to vulnerable populations is needed to discern efficacy and appropriateness of interventions.