Service needs and service gaps among refugees with disabilities resettled in the United States

To examine the adequacy of existing service systems in addressing the needs of refugees with disabilities resettled in the U.S.A.

A cross-disability group of eight Cambodian and seven Somali refugees were purposively selected to participate in a 2-year qualitative study in the Midwestern U.S.A. Ten disability/refugee service providers and key experts on refugee resettlement were also recruited to participate. Data sources included in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observations and social network surveys with disabled refugees. Participant observations and semi-structured interviews were also conducted with service providers and key experts. Data were analyzed using coding procedures based on a grounded theory approach.

Disabled refugee participants experienced several unmet disability-related needs and limited access to resettlement resources on account of their disability. These findings were associated with refugee service providers having limited awareness of disability rights and resources and a narrow biomedical perspective of disability. Additionally there was a disconnection between refugee and disability service systems resulting from resource limitations within agencies, mistrust between the different service entities, and a lack of cross-cultural nuance among disability service organizations. These findings contribute important insights to the literature on disability disparities.

Disabled refugees resettled in the U.S.A. have many unmet needs associated with gaps in-service delivery stemming from disconnections between refugee and disability service systems.