The Mental Health of Refugees during a Pandemic: Striving toward Social Justice through Social Determinants of Health and Human Rights
This paper is the second of two in a series. In our first paper, we presented a social justice framework emerging from an extensive literature review and incorporating core social determinants specific to mental health in the age of COVID-19 and illustrated specific social determinants impacting mental health (SDIMH) of our resettled Bhutanese refugee population during the pandemic. This second paper details specific barriers to the SDIMH detrimental to the basic human rights and social justice of this population during this pandemic. The SDIMH, as described, further informs the need for social justice measures and cultural humility in mental healthcare, public health, law, and community engagement. This work concludes with a proposed call to action toward mental health improvement and fair treatment for refugee populations in three core areas: communication and education, social stigma and discrimination, and accessibility and availability of resources.
Daniel Yozwiak
Tanner McGuire
Julie M Aultman
Asian Bioeth Rev
. 2021 Sep 13;14(1):9-23. doi: 10.1007/s41649-021-00184-0. eCollection 2022 Jan.
2022
English
A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Published Research Exploring the Pregnancy and Resettlement Experience Among Refugee Women.
Pregnancy; Qualitative Research; MEDICAL care; Meta-Themes; Metasynthesis; PREGNANT women; Refugee; REFUGEE resettlement; REFUGEE services; SYRIAN refugees
The number of refugees and asylum seekers throughout the world continues to increase, leading to increasing challenges in meeting healthcare needs of these individuals. Women's antenatal health is of particular concern due to their vulnerability to sexual violence and the substantial proportion of refugees consisting of women and girls of or nearing reproductive age. The purpose of this qualitative metasynthesis was to integrate and interpret findings from previously published research reports in which authors explored aspects of pregnancy among resettled refugee women. Following a systematic search process, we used Dedoose qualitative data analysis software to manage the process of extracting and condensing data from primary sources. We developed themes including: comparing pregnancy care in resettlement with care at home; navigating unfamiliar language and cultural practices; making meaning through pregnancy and associated healthcare experiences. Our analysis revealed authors used thematic analysis regardless of research design, limiting the range of reported findings. Prior research focused on identifying challenges to pregnancy in resettlement; our findings expand this by considering how women navigate and make meaning from challenges. Service providers might encourage mentally healthy resettlement by guiding refugees to consider differences in an open-minded rather than judgmental attitude that respects old and new cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Kingsbury Diana M; Chatfield Sheryl L
Qualitative Report
2019
2019-02
Journal Article
<a href="https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol24/iss2/3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol24/iss2/3/</a>