Caring for Refugee Patients: An Interprofessional Course in Resettlement, Medical Intake, and Culture

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Cross-Cultural Healthcare

Background:

• Refugees access healthcare services at rates comparable to US citizens.
• Many healthcare providers report feeling unprepared to manage the unique health needs of refugees.
• This study addresses the need for improved clinician preparedness in refugee healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an interprofessional presentation in enhancing refugee health knowledge.
• To assess the impact of the presentation on healthcare professionals' cross-cultural comfort levels when treating refugees.

Main Methods:

• An interprofessional educational session was delivered via Zoom, including a lecture and small-group discussions.
• Participants from diverse healthcare programs completed pre- and post-session surveys.
• Surveys measured changes in knowledge of refugee health and cross-cultural comfort.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant improvement was observed in all 9 knowledge-based questions regarding refugee health.
• Only one question related to cross-cultural comfort showed a statistically significant improvement.
• Survey completion rates were 39% for pre-surveys and 30% for post-surveys.

Conclusions:

• The educational intervention successfully enhanced clinicians' knowledge of refugee health issues.
• The presentation did not significantly improve cross-cultural comfort, highlighting a gap in current training.
• Additional targeted interventions are necessary to build cross-cultural competency in refugee care.