Refugee Health Education Experience: A Community-Based Approach to Serving Multinational Patients

Issues: Houston is the number one resettlement city within Texas. Most recently resettled refugees have serious health conditions that have been ignored for decades in inadequate refugee camp settings with limited access to medical care and nutrition.

 Description: The yearlong project aimed at improving healthcare for Houston's Nepalese, Iraqi, Burmese, Eritrean, and Congolese refugee communities through the refugee resettlement agency, Alliance for Multicultural Community Services. The project included, 4 health fairs, 16 community-based education classes held at the refugee apartment communities, and a multi-language self-help video on county insurance applications. Health fairs offered free flu vaccines, hearing screening, nutrition education, and dental hygiene screening. Educational classes covered health insurance registration, infectious disease control, dental health, and mental wellness. Over 500 clients were seen at the health fairs that helped to identify barriers to care. It enriched the professional education of medical, dental, pharmacy, and public health students by helping them appreciate and serve the needs of a culturally diverse population.

Lessons learned: Most refugees don’t access health care despite having health care benefits. The most significant barriers are transportation and language. A multidisciplinary approach involving case managers and health professions from all health fields is necessary to positively impact refugee health.

Recommendations: The project will continue, but will shift its focus to refugee women. It will empower the women to reach their full potential, become active members of the community and take control of their health. Social determinants of health will be addressed in this phase of the project.