The refugee population in the United States is steadily increasing. These populations face a plethora of diseases and chronic health problems (i.e. obesity, hypertension and depression) as they resettle into their new environment. Due to the lack of understanding, minority population refugee health is scarce and minimal at best. Refugees and healthcare professionals face similar barriers when it comes to seeking treatment and treatment itself. For example, refugees might not be able to communicate efficiently and understand the referral process while healthcare professionals do not understand the culture and language of their patients. However, more data is needed to determine if interprofessional teams consisting of differing healthcare professionals such as nurses, pharmacists, and dieticians that conduct home visits might be able to bridge the health care gap between individualized treatment and refugee needs.

The recent crisis in the Middle East has prompted the exodus of millions of refugees from the region who are at present seeking shelter across Europe and in the United States. Among the most immediate needs of refugees upon arrival in a host country is health care, and it is one of the most sustained interactions they experience. Home visits are a common form of primary care for refugees. The authors review the literature to identify themes related to challenges and strategies for providing home based primary care to refugees. The literature review was performed by searching cross-disciplinary databases utilizing Onesearch, but focusing primarily on results produced through CINAHL, EBSCOHOST, and Pub Med databases. To maximize the number of studies included, there was no time frame placed upon publication dates of articles within the search. A total of 55 articles were included in this paper.

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The needs of refugees in the United States can often optimally be met through home based primary care (HBPC). Until recently, however, there has been little research into the methods of best practice and challenges of providing home based care to refugee groups. The model for the HBPC of refugees proposed here is the result of a comprehensive review of the literature combined with professional practice. Emphasis is placed on the elements of care identified as most affecting health and quality of life outcomes for refugees receiving HBPC. The key inputs for positive health and quality of life outcomes identified are: (1) Linguistic communication; (2) Cultural safety; and (3) Interprofessional team.