Refugees and migrants face unique health challenges, including higher rates of disease, limited healthcare access, and significant mental health burdens (1). Language barriers and cultural differences further worsen health outcomes (2). Despite the growing refugee population in the U.S., more than half of fourth-year medical students entering residency reported feeling ‘not at all’ or only ‘sometimes’ confident in their ability to provide culturally sensitive care to immigrants/refugees (3). This elective course integrated didactic learning and community engagement to improve students’ skills and comfort providing refugee healthcare.

Methods:

Forty first- and second-year medical students participated in a refugee health curriculum consisting of four didactic sessions and one mock medical clinic. Nineteen participants met the inclusion criteria by attending at least three of five sessions. Of these, thirteen students filled out pre- and post-curriculum surveys to assess their comfort in providing cross-cultural care and their empathy using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. The McNemar test analyzed quantitative pre- and post-curriculum responses.

Results:

A significant increase in confidence was observed in taking a history from refugee patients (p = 0.012). There was improvement in comfort working with interpreters and with non-English speaking patients, however not statistically significant. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy median scores remained stable pre- and post-curriculum (pre: 118, post: 120, p = 0.745).

Conclusion:

Refugee health curricula showed promise toward improving medical student’s comfortability to care for refugee populations. Larger studies are needed to better assess the curriculum’s impact and refine its approach to addressing cultural barriers in healthcare.