Refugee Support Staff's Perceptions of Refugees' Physical, Mental, and Social Health Problems in the US

Aim: The purpose of this undergraduate thesis is to explore physical, mental and social problems of adult refugees living in the United States (U.S.) through staff’s viewpoints.
Background: With the humanitarian crisis associated with refugees, it has become critically important to pay an attention to how they live and their problems. And it is also important to focus on perceptions of workers who have been engaged in refugees in the U.S. because little study has been done to explore how workers perceived about refugees in the U.S.
Method: Qualitative description was used. The study participants were 5 staff members who have been engaging in Oregon. Following institutional review board in University of Shizuoka, snowball sampling was used with support through the staff at refugee support center. And the written date through open-ended questions was analyzed using thematic coding.
Findings: Questions about worries/complaints of the refugees were asked in question 1 and 2. Consequently, Acculturation Stress, Cultural Assimilation (Little information of health care services they know), Poverty and Social Disconnection were identified. Secondly, questions about refugees who sought healthcare providers for their health concerns and their care services were given. Refugees turned out to have Psychological Distress caused by traumatized experiences, depression or anxiety and Chronic Diseases (diabetes, high blood pressure, kind of disabilities) in question 3. Socially Disadvantaged Ones were revealed when their employment status of the refugees at the center were asked. And Social Disconnection (housing, employment, accreditation and language acquisition) was seen as support/help refugees wish to obtain in question 5. Three categories of problems of refugees in the U.S. were found: Physical, Mental and Socioeconomic problem. For physical issue, Chronic Diseases was identified. For mental issue, Psychological Distress and Acculturation stress were identified. For Socioeconomic issue, Cultural Assimilation, Socially Disadvantaged Ones, Social Disconnection and Poverty were identified. Additionally, Language Issue, Transportation and Cultural Assimilation turned out to be hindrances to healthcare services for refugees.
Implication: The biggest prospect of this study will contribute to the advocate of refugees’ need in the U.S. The results of this research will have to be further used to deepen the understanding and awareness of the situation of refugees in the educational field. For example, further discussion with students and nurses in the U.S. as well as in Japan will be important to raise awareness of the situation of refugees living in the U.S. Additionally, discussions among interdisciplinary teams are expected to be promoted to achieve not only a stronger but also comprehensible healthcare support for refugees.