The Prevalence of Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Foreign-Born Refugee Children Upon Arrival to the U.S. and the Adequacy of Follow-up Treatment

Examining the Lead Exposure and its Effects among U.S Children

“…Similarly, Seifu et al (2020) reported, after analyzing the blood of 301 foreign-born refugee children in the U.S, that foreign-born refugee children have higher elevated blood lead levels. The average of elevated blood levels of the foreign-born refugee children upon arrival was 9 µg/dL with a range from 5 to 27 µg/dL (Seitu et al, 2020).…”

“…Lead poisoning may also cause neurotoxic effects in children, resulting in long-term lower IQ, inattentiveness, and other behavioral problems (Seifu et al, 2020). In addition, according to the United States EPA (2019), lead is more dangerous to young children because it causes neurobehavioral deficits in cognition, motor abilities, and brain development.…”

“…Moody et al (2016) found that children who have lower socioeconomic statuses and minority communities have higher rates of childhood lead exposure. Likewise, Seifu et al (2020) reported that low socioeconomic status is a major risk factor that drives the elevated blood lead levels in U.S children. Egan et al (2021) also suggested that sociodemographic characteristics such as income level and housing are the other factors that drive the higher prevalence of blood lead levels in U.S children.…”

Using an interprofessional team to provide refugee healthcare in an academic medical centre

“…By the end of the month, students have chosen their own research project and written a final paper addressing a relevant refugee health or culture topic, which are posted on the IFMC website 25. Research electives are also available to medical students and have resulted in peer-reviewed publications 26 27…”

“…The scope of research that has been done mirrors the evolution of the refugee population in Charlottesville, and members from each part of the IFMC team, including nurses, have been involved in quality improvement research aimed to improve the care of the refugee patients and the education of the providers who care for them. The IFMC maintains a database of its patients derived from the electronic medical record facilitating a variety of chart abstraction projects, for example, immunisation rates among refugee children,28 cervical cancer screening among refugee women,29 H. pylori screening and treatment, and lead screening among newly-arriving children 27. These projects have provided valuable information that has allowed the IFMC to identify gaps in care and implement improvements to better care for this population.…”