Examining the Primary Care Experiences of Refugee Communities
Updated in 2023, clinical recommendations and guidance for providers that serve refugee communities.
November 10, 2023 · PDF
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Navigating Refugee Health Systems in King County: A Guide for Resettlement Practitioners
A series of videos to provide basic training about the local refugee health system for resettlement agency staff.
December 7, 2022 · Video
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Refugee Health Bulletin
This content is from the Refugee Health Bulletin, a weekly email from the Washington State Department of Health's Refugee Health Program.
April 21, 2022 · Article
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Resources for New Arrivals from Afghanistan
This is a collection of resources to support Afghan refugees who are new arrivals to the United States.
November 10, 2021 · Article
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Somali Health Survey and Health Disparities
Article about findings from a Somali health survey conducted in 2014 by the Somali Health Board of Seattle.
January 22, 2020 · Article
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Northwest Health and Human Rights (NWHHR) Coalition
Information about a collaborative coalition that provides medical consultation, mental health and legal social services to survivors of torture in Washington State.
December 31, 2019 · Article
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Loa Loa
A description of a case of Loa loa in a patient originating outside of the loiasis-endemic area, including resulting questions for clinicians surrounding infection screening and treatment.
September 21, 2018 · Article
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Bias in Health Disparities: Selected Glossary and Resources
This selected glossary and resource list provides definitions on the topic of bias of health disparities, and resources on the topic.
October 10, 2017 · PDF
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Harborview Services to Reduce Health Disparities among the Non-English Speaking Poor
A 35 minute talk by Dr. J. Carey Jackson about the integration of services to reduce health disparities at Harborview Medical Center.
August 1, 2017 · Video
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Central American Minors Refugee Health Profile
Provide information to help resettlement agencies and healthcare providers gain a better understanding of Central American immigrants, their cultural backgrounds and population-specific health issues.
January 11, 2017 · PDF
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Burmese Refugee Health Profile
The information provided in this refugee health profile is intended to help resettlement agencies, clinicians and providers understand the cultural background and health issues of concern for Burmese refugee populations.
March 15, 2016 · PDF
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New Arrival Refugees – Guidelines for Primary Care Providers
These guidelines reflect current screening practice in King County, WA as of 10/1/2015. Please note that refugees screened prior to this date or outside of King County may have received a different screening.
October 1, 2015 · PDF
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Project SAHAT (South Asian Health Assessment Tool)
Project SAHAT, a health survey conducted for the South Asian community living in MN identifies key health issues and the need for culturally specific services to ensure health equity.
March 13, 2014 · Article
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Pre-Travel Counseling for Persons Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFRs)
Useful tips and guidelines on pre-travel counseling for patients who are visiting friends and relatives internationally.
April 17, 2013 · Article
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Developmental Screening with Recent Immigrant and Refugee Children
Article about developmental screening of immigrant and refugee children with information about developmental screening, literature review, qualitative findings, recommendations and discussion.
December 7, 2012 · Article
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Toolkit for Primary Care Providers Treating Refugees
Health screening for refugees entering their new communities differs across the United States. The Toolkit for Primary Care was created in King County, WA and reflects conditions solely in this community site.
May 1, 2012 · Article, PDF
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External Resources
Please also see our Related Websites page for a selected list of websites related to the populations or topics covered on EthnoMed.
El Centro de la Raza, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), and Northwest Health Law Advocates (NoHLA) with support from the ACLU of Washington have partnered to work toward health equity for immigrants. In September 2020, these four organizations launched the Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign to improve access to affordable health care coverage and services for all Washington residents, regardless of immigration status. This includes individuals who are uninsured and underinsured due to immigration status restrictions. This report is the result of that campaign.
This American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) toolkit was designed to provide practical information and resources for pediatricians to address common matters related to immigrant child health. To develop the toolkit, the AAP gathered and developed content that addresses issues that AAP members have raised regarding providing optimal care to immigrant children and families. Those issues are addressed throughout the toolkit. As the AAP continues its work on immigrant child health issues, this content will be expanded.
A website empowering immigrant and refugee families to achieve stability and self-sufficiency
NRC-RIM Webinar- An Introduction for Direct Service Providers who support those who facing barriers in navigating the complex U.S. health care system.
After completing the first five mandatory modules of this course, participants will be qualified to conduct forensic medical evaluations with prominent asylum medicine organizations, including Physicians for Human Rights.
The Cultural Orientaton Center Resource Center has multiple resources including the history of the Bhutanese and environment in exile, resettlement background and information, characteristics of the population, and a 22- minute video of interviews with refugees from Bhutan talking about their refugee background.
BRYCS aims to strengthen the capacity of refugee-serving and mainstream organizations across the U.S. to empower and ensure the successful development of refugee children, youth, and their families. In providing technical assistance and maintaining the nation’s largest online collection of resources related to refugee and immigrant children and families, BRYCS increases public awareness and facilitates knowledge building, information sharing and collaboration among a diverse group of service providers, including child welfare, schools, refugee resettlement agencies, and ethnic and community-based organizations.
The CDC provides information about medical examination, health guidelines, laws and regulations. Includes refugee health profiles for specific refugee groups resettling in the United States.
2 page PDF with CDC recommendations about Primary Prevention of Elevated Blood Lead Levels, Identification of Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels, Early Post-arrival Evaluation and Therapy, and Health Education/Outreach for lead poisoning prevention in newly arrived refugee children.
Refugees share a common experience of displacement from their country of origin, migration, and resettlement in an unfamiliar country. More than 17 million people have fled their home countries due to war, generalized violence, and persecution. US primary care physicians must care for their immediate and long-term medical needs. Challenges include (1) language and cultural barriers, (2) high rates of mental health disorders, (3) higher prevalence of latent infections, and (4) different explanatory models for chronic diseases. This article discusses management strategies for common challenges that arise in the primary care of refugees.
CareRef is a tool that guides clinicians through conducting a routine post-arrival medical screening of a newly arrived refugee to the U.S. The output of this tool is based on the current CDC Domestic Refugee Screening Guidelines. CareRef recommends screening tests and other preventive care based on the demographic and geographic factors that contribute to risk. The data used to create this tool are specific to refugee populations coming to the U.S.
Caring for Kids New to Canada helps health professionals provide quality care to immigrant and refugee children, youth and families. It was developed by the Canadian Paediatric Society with experts in newcomer health.
CDC Toolkit with training resources and information for health care and refugee service providers regarding prevention of lead poisoning in refugee children.
COR Center resources in the Tools for Trainers area include Refugee Training and Orientation: A Guide for Service Providers, Cultural Orientation Training: An Introduction for Trainers video, and a workbook for trainers. These resources were designed for service providers working with refugees to enhance understanding, design, and delivery of training and orientation. This is an archived website.
Overview of Presumptive Treatment and Screening for Strongyloidiasis, Infections Caused by Other Soil-Transmitted Helminths, and Schistosomiasis among Newly Arrived Refugees
Video depicting the dangers of the journey to child migrants.
The guidelines in this document include testing for abnormalities or clinical conditions that are not specific disorders but are suggestive of underlying disorders.
Global to Local’s mission is to advance health equity and improve health in U.S. communities through application of best practices from around the world. They develop programs and interventions to improve health, lower the cost of care, and empower underserved communities across the country. Communities affected by health disparities are diverse and include women, people of color, people experiencing poverty, immigrants and refugees.
These CDC guidelines are recommendations for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) physicians and other panel physicians who administer overseas predeparture presumptive treatment for intestinal parasites.
Dr. Raj Sundar explores the history and culture of Washington's diverse communities so clinicians can be better equipped with the right knowledge to care for all patients. By better understanding their worldview, providers can become better at taking care of their patients.
This 2012 study suggests that chronic NCDs are common among adult refugees in the US, including refugees at high risk for uninsurance. We propose that refugee health services accommodate screening and treatment for chronic NCDs and NCD risk factors, and that insurance outreach and enrollment programs target recently arrived refugees.
Brief vignettes focused on immigrant health and health equity. Articles designed to be read in three minutes and to provide an immigrant’s perspective of challenges in achieving health equity.
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future.
Washington Health Benefits Exchange as provided translated materials about Health and Immigration Eligibility in Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Lead Poisoning Prevention Program in conjunction with the Office of Refugee Resettlement developed the Lead Poisoning Prevention in Newly Arrived Refugee Children tool kit in response to the increasing number of refugee children entering in the United States and subsequently developing elevated blood lead levels.
Provides information and resources for clinicians working with immigrant, refugee, and racial/ethnic minority populations.
The National Resource Center for COVID-19 among Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) focused on contact tracing, mitigation, and prevention activities. Funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the International Organization for Migration, their priorities are to provide technical assistance to state and local health departments working with refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID -19.
A coalition of health and service providers in Washington State have joined together to promote health equity for refugees, asylees and immigrants. This group was previously called the New Arrivals Working Group (NAWG), and was cited in the American Journal of Public Health as an example of innovative collaboration on behalf of refugees.
Conversation with medical interpreter, Jennifer Huong discussing how unprocessed trauma manifests and how the lack of community spaces can lead to further isolation.
Public health and communications experts who are well versed in the most pressing, evolving public health issues of our time, hosting a library of free, on-demand webinars.
FAQ page from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Information about refugees and the refugee resettlement process with a special look at child-specific issues, from Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services (BRYCS).
The Spring 2016 issue of the Harvard Public Health Review offers multiple articles on the topic of refugee health.
This information is provided to help clinicians, public health providers, and resettlement agencies facilitate medical screening, and determine appropriate interventions and services for individuals of a specific refugee group. Each profile is a comprehensive resource describing the demographic, cultural, and health characteristics of specific population. The information in these profiles is intended to equip clinicians and others with the knowledge necessary to better serve refugees. This knowledge will allow providers to approach a refugee with an improved understanding of where they come from, the circumstances of their displacement, living conditions during asylum, and health conditions for which they may be at increased risk.
The "Clinician's Corner" provides a collection of resources for providers working with refugee populations, including a quick guide for conducting initial refugee health assessments.
The RHS-15 is a tool for screening refugees for emotional distress and mental health. Packet includes the RHS-15 tool in English, background on the tool’s development, and guidelines on using the RHS-15 with recently resettled refugees. RHS-15 has also been translated into Somali, Russian, Arabic, Burmese, Karen and Nepali. Packet includes contact information to request bilingual versions of the RHS-15.
The RHTAC provides tools, resources and support for health and mental health providers to meet the needs of refugees in resettlement.
Refugees Northwest, a program of Lutheran Community Services Northwest, has programming that includes: trauma-focused mental health support, torture treatment, unaccompanied minor foster care, asylum assistance, complex medical case management, immigration assistance, drop-out prevention, refugee elder support, and forensic medical and mental health evaluations.
Journal article (2012) from "Mental Health in Family Medicine" that explores refugees' perspectives regarding the nature of communication barriers that impede the exploration of trauma histories in primary care.
The report documents the experience of adapting and implementing this play-based home visiting intervention in a crisis setting and shares stories of community workers and caregivers participating in the program in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Resource from the Refugee Forum and Northwest Immigrant and Refugee Health Coalition. Includes ways to address current fear and safety concerns and incidents for the refugee and immigrant communities in your local area.
The Northwest Health Law Advocates provides this summary of the current laws, policies and government actions that apply in Washington State and are relevant to non-citizens’ access to healthcare.
An examination of the meaning and connotations of terms "cultural competency" among health care providers, and calls for a greater emphasis on cultural humility.
In 2012, Washington State became home to 2,164 newly arrived refugees, the tenth-largest number resettled in a state that year. This report describes the prevalence of both undernutrition and overnutrition among children (from birth to age 10) resettled in Washington State between July 2012 and June 2014, with most originating in Iraq, Somalia, or Burma. The researchers use results of a medical screening examination conducted before the children came to the United States.
Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services webinars where you can learn more about important issues in the torture treatment field, hear leaders in the field discuss effective interventions, and gain an understanding of challenges faced by survivors of torture.
The UNHCR Resettlement Handbook offers resettlement management and policy guidance to UNHCR staff, and is a key reference tool for resettlement states and NGOs on global resettlement policy and practice. First released in 1997, the Resettlement Handbook was fully revised in 2011, with updates to country chapters as recently as 2018.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
CDC information about VFR travel. A traveler categorized as a VFR is an immigrant, ethnically and racially distinct from the majority population of the country of residence (a higher-income country), who returns to his or her home country (lower-income country) to visit friends or relatives.
This request form is for a free publication (114 pg, PDF) designed for mental health professionals, clinicians and social workers who have the privilege of working with refugees. The Guide tackles important topics such as barriers to care, overcoming obstacles, clinical considerations in assessment, treatment planning, working with interpreters, medication adherence, and trauma. Produced by International Counseling and Community Services(now Refugees Northwest), a program of Lutheran Community Services Northwest.
Panelists will discuss cultural validation (CV) - an intentional practice that includes refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities in producing tailored and meaningful messaging.