The health care needs of southeast asian refugees

Although the health of Southeast Asian refugees has been examined in the United States, the health of this population has not been studied in Canada, nor has there been an assessment of the effectiveness of the Canadian health care system in meeting the needs of this group. The authors of this article review the major health problems of Southeast Asian refugees as reported primarily by U.S. researchers, discuss the "theories of illness causation" of the refugees and the problems encountered in providing care to this group. They conclude that there is a need to examine the health of newly arrived refugees in Canada, assess their needs, and determine the adequacy of the existing health-care system to meet these needs.