Health-Seeking Behavioral Patterns among Refugee Groups – A Case-Study in South-central Kentucky

Abstract

Each year, thousands of people get displaced from their homes due to genocide, famine, civil wars and other crises in their countries. The United States has traditionally been receptive to resettling refugees. These refugees view resettlement as an opportunity to obtain proper health care. Due to the diverse cultural identities of refugee populations, it is essential to research complex culturally dependent healthcare utilization patterns. A purposeful sample of four refugees from the Burmese, Congolese and Iraqi refugee communities in south-central Kentuckycompleted interviews. They shared experiences and insights from their cultural points of view. Results showed demographic factors directly impacted access through nationality and language, while social factors and beliefs impacted access through religion, acculturation, health insurance, transportation and the level of cultural competency of a health care facility/provider. These findings would contribute to the popular health and policy-making debates that surround the well-being of this culturally diverse population. DOI: 10.18297/rgh/vol2/iss2/10 Submitted Date: November 19, 2018 Accepted Date: July 9, 2019 Website: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/rgh Affiliations: 1Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 2Department of Educational Administration Leadership and Research, College of Education and Behavioral Services, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green , KY 3The Medical Center, Bowling Green, KY This original article is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville’s Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in the Journal of Refugee & Global Health by an authorized editor of ThinkIR. For more information, please contact thinkir@louisville.edu. Recommended Citation: Ejike, Chika; Lartey, Grace; Capps, Randy; Ciochetty, David (2019) “Health-Seeking Behavioral Patterns among Refugee Groups – A Case Study in South-central Kentucky,” Journal of Refugee & Global Health: Vol. 2 : Iss. 2 , Article 10.