Refugees
Lauren King, Melina Miller, Kimberly Murphy, Alexa
Stallworth
Definition: Refugees
The U.S. refugee resettlement program focuses on the most vulnerable populations and those with the
best prospects for long-term integration. Individuals with critical medical conditions or disabilities and
families with young children are typically prioritized for resettlement.
Iraqi men and women, 18 years of age and older, who arrived in the United States are 26%
more likely to smoke.
The historically high prevalence of the number of Iraqis who smoke, increases the risk of
smoking-associated diseases among this population.
Recent studies have shown that smoking is an independent risk factor associated with LTBI
and active TB disease.
A recent study found that the TB case rate among Africans in the United States was 3 times
higher than that among other foreign-born people and 27 times higher than that among US-
born people, a finding attributed to the large burden of LTBI in this population.
Iraqi men and women 18 years of age and older who arrived in the United States are 33%
more likely to have a delay in health care due to costs.
Only 11% of American adults reported having a delay in medical care due to costs.
The most common reasons for the delayed care in Iraqi men and women was the lack of
funds to pay for treatment, lack of interpretation, and lack of insurance.
(Taylor et al., 2014)
Nursing Intervention for Culturally
Competent Care of Refugees
Implementation- Health Teaching and Health Promotion (SOP #5B)
Sehatack is a culturally and linguistically tailored smoking cessation
program for Arab American (ARA) men
It utilizes:
Motivational interviewing (MI)
Telephone counseling in Arabic
Arabic workbooks
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
Sehatack has demonstrated successful outcomes in reducing smoking
behaviors in ARA men as part of evidence-based practice and research.
The combination of NRT with Motivational Interviewing (MI) may be a promising way to treat
tobacco dependence in smokers
Participants reported high degrees of satisfaction with the program as a whole (mean 93%).
Culturally tailored and linguistically appropriate intervention approaches may be more
effective than standard interventions
Haddad, L.G., Al-Bashaireh, A.M., Ferrell, A.V., & Ghadban, R. (2017). Effectiveness of a culturally-tailored smoking cessation intervention for arab-american
men, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14, 1-16. doi:10.3390/ijerph14040411
Horne, D.J., Campo, M., Ortiz, J.R., Oren, E., Arentz, M., Crothers, K., & Narita, M.(2012). Association between smoking and latent tuberculosis
in the U.S. population: An analysis of the national health and nutrition examination survey. PLOS One, 7, 1-6.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049050.t002
Igielnik, R., & Krogstad, J.N. (2017). Where refugees to the U.S. come from. Retrieved from
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/03/where-refugees-to-the-u-s-come-from/
Taylor, E. M., Yanni, E. A., Pezzi, C., Guterbock, M., Rothney, E., Harton, E., & Burke, H. (2014) Physical and mental health status of iraqi
refugees resettled in the united states. Journal Immigrant Minority Health, 16, 1130-1137. Doi: 10.1007/s10903-013-9893-6
References
Ubri, P., & Artiga, S. (2016). Disparities in health and health care: Five key questions and answers. Retrieved from
https://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-health-and-health-care-five-key-questions-and-answers/
U.S. Department of State. (2015). FY15 Refugee Admissions Statistics [Data file]. Retrieved from
https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/prm/releases/statistics/251285.htm
Zong, J., & Batalova, J. (2017). Refugees and Asylees in the United States. Retrieved from
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-united-states#Arrivals