Comparing the health and welfare of refugees and non-refugees at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic: the results of a community needs assessment.

Abstract

Refugees are a vulnerable population who experience sig- nificant health disparities. They may also be at disproportionately high risk of adverse outcomes due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. This paper presents the results of a community needs assessment to investigate the impact of the pan- demic on health and welfare in a refugee relocation community in the United States. A multilingual data collection team made up of refugees surveyed 179 participants (128 refugees vs. 51 non-refugees). Only 55.9% of refugee re- spondents said they would be able to provide enough food for their family this week, compared with 84.0% of non-refugees (p < 0.01), and this difference was even greater for food next week (29.4% vs. 76.0%, p < 0.01). A non-significantly smaller proportion of refugees reported knowing where to go if they were sick (69.1% vs. 81.6%, χ 2 = 2.8, p = 0.10), and being able to get the medicine they need (75.0% vs. 87.8%, p = 0.07), while significantly fewer refugees reported feeling safe at home (72.8 vs. 87.8%, χ 2 = 4.5, p = 0.04). Overall, refugees fared worse on nearly every measure. These findings should motivate further observational research and inform clinicians about the significant disparities in social de- terminants of health that refugees may experience during the pandemic.