Pediatric Refugee Health Care Delivery in the Community Setting: An Educational Workshop for Multidisciplinary Family-Centered Care During Resettlement

Abstract

Introduction: With 70.8 million people displaced worldwide, there is an increasing need for medical professionals to provide medical care to refugees. Insufficient training on refugee health poses a barrier to effective care delivery. Methods: This workshop addressed common challenges in providing family-centered pediatric refugee care in community settings as well as barriers related to policy changes. Presentations covered prearrival experiences, medical screening, and trauma-based care. In small groups, participants discussed cases that featured medical, behavioral health, social, and cultural factors impacting the provision of family-centered pediatric care that was culturally respectful and included shared decision-making. After the breakout session, each small group informed the larger group of topics discussed. Facilitators identified themes and reinforced key learning points. At the workshop's conclusion, participants were guided to create their own personalized action plan. Results: This workshop was presented at two international conferences to more than 47 participants, including clinicians, nurse practitioners, pediatric residents, and medical students. Evaluations were completed by 34 individuals. Participants' overall comfort level with taking care of refugee patients increased from 3.3 to 4.0 (on a 5-point scale, p = .24) during the 3-hour version of the workshop and from 3.8 to 4.0 (p = .43) in the 1-hour version of the workshop. Mean overall ratings of the 3-and 1-hour workshop versions on conference-administered evaluations were 4.8 and 4.2, respectively, on a 5-point scale. Discussions: This workshop was well received and equipped participants with knowledge, tools, and strategies regarding pediatric refugee health in a community setting.

Resident Experiences in Pathways to Health for Cleveland Refugees: A Pilot Study

“…7,10 In a review of the literature, we identified four published refugee health curricula for medical students and pediatric residents. [10][11][12][13] Methods used in these curricula included simulated patient cases, case-based discussion in small groups, lecture sessions with guest speakers, and in-person clinical experiences at a refugee clinic. [10][11][12][13] Surveys completed by participants in these curricula emphasized participants' engagement with and enjoyment of the material despite little formal training in refugee health through the standard health professions curriculum.…”

“…[10][11][12][13] Methods used in these curricula included simulated patient cases, case-based discussion in small groups, lecture sessions with guest speakers, and in-person clinical experiences at a refugee clinic. [10][11][12][13] Surveys completed by participants in these curricula emphasized participants' engagement with and enjoyment of the material despite little formal training in refugee health through the standard health professions curriculum. [10][11][12][13] Little is known about the impact of using direct health education interactions between refugees and residents to enhance resident education in this area.…”

“…[10][11][12][13] Surveys completed by participants in these curricula emphasized participants' engagement with and enjoyment of the material despite little formal training in refugee health through the standard health professions curriculum. [10][11][12][13] Little is known about the impact of using direct health education interactions between refugees and residents to enhance resident education in this area. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of participation in a refugee health curriculum on pediatric resident physician attitudes and self-reported behaviors regarding refugee health care.…”

Preparing Doctors in Training for Health Activist Roles: A Cross-Institutional Community Organizing Workshop for Incoming Medical Residents

“…[3][4][5][6] However, few graduate medical education programs provide training in practices and techniques that prepare residents to assume future roles as physician advocates for a more equitable health care system, 3,4 and few of these curricula have been published. When we reviewed curricula designed to teach advocacy skills to address health inequities in the US health care system and published in MedEdPORTAL, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] we found that none addressed leadership development or featured community organizing, none targeted learners at the start of residency training, and few were crossinstitutional.…”

Working With Burmese Patients: Understanding Historical and Cultural Contexts to Improve Health Care Access and Health Status

“…McHenry and colleagues published a study evaluating the effectiveness of a brief intervention on caring for Burmese patients directed at resident physicians. 19 A review of MedEdPORTAL revealed several publications specific to refugee health, among them resources providing direction on both pediatric 20 and adult refugee health. 21 To date, no current curriculum focuses on the specific needs of Burmese refugees.…”