Access to health information in a newly arrived refugee population: A health fair approach

A community assessment, conducted by a group of public health nursing students, identified several barriers to health care in a recently arrived refugee population in Prince Georges County, Maryland. The three major barriers were language, lack of transportation, and lack of knowledge of health resources. To address these barriers, a health fair was planned to bring information, resources and services to the apartment complex where the refugees lived. A variety of health stations were set up with community agency representatives and translators present. Translators were available for all the major languages spoken in this population, including Arabic, Swahili, French and Napalese. The health fair included flu vaccine administration, screening for diabetes, hypertension,and pulmonary functioning as well as health information about HIV, family planning, and dental health. One of the most popular areas was the flu vaccine administration station. This area surpassed its goal of 300 by vaccinating 432 adults and children during the fair. Bringing the resources to this newly arrived refugee population improved their access to care and increased their knowledge of resources available for use in the future.