Improving the quality of life of Somali refugees through the East African Health Coalition

Immigrants and refugee populations have serious and distinct public health needs that require dedicated assistance from their new communities. Such obstacles as poverty, language barriers, emotional trauma, lack of education, and disparities in health care act as barriers to hinder new residents from achieving their full potential. Somali community based organizations in Columbus, Ohio, are committed to empowering immigrants and refugees through education, advocacy and mentoring programs. We developed a community-based participatory research (CBPR) network named the East African Health Coalition (EAHC). This working group includes Somali community agencies such as the Somali Women's and Children's Alliance [SWCA] and Global Bilingual Services, Inc., regional mental health and health services agencies including Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County, Ohio Commission for Minority Health, Columbus Office of Minority Health, and researchers from Wright State University, among others. It is through the cooperation of this network that we collected quality of life data for 300 Somali refugees that is now being used for advocacy with regard to local public health policy and practice. This presentation illustrates how the knowledge generated by this data is being synthesized, disseminated, and exchanged through this CBPR network. The role of EAHC goes beyond simple dissemination in that it seeks to create positive change in collaboration, practice, policy and perceptions. Empowering Somali community members to provide “insider” perspectives through their engagement and leadership in CBPR and the unfolding of this knowledge translation network will change community based participatory research to community driven participatory research.