Pandemic influenza preparedness and response among immigrants and refugees

Some immigrants and refugees might be more vulnerable than other groups to pandemic influenza because of preexisting health and social disparities, migration history, and living conditions in the United States. Vulnerable populations and their service providers need information to overcome limited resources, inaccessible health services, limited English proficiency and foreign language barriers, cross-cultural misunderstanding, and inexperience applying recommended guidelines. To increase the utility of guidelines, we searched the literature, synthesized relevant findings, and examined their implications for vulnerable populations and stakeholders. Here we summarize advice from an expert panel of public health scientists and service program managers who attended a meeting convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 1 and 2, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia.