Center for Mental Health

Title Seperator

Introductory Sections

Acknowledgments

This document was prepared for the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), by Research Triangle Institute (RTI), Research Triangle Park, NC, under contract number 03M00028801D, with SAMHSA, in collaboration with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, and the Office of Global Health Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Captain John J. Tuskan, Jr., served as the Government Project Officer, and Louise M. Peloquin, Ph.D., served as the Alternate Government Project Officer.


The views, opinions, and content of this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of SAMHSA or DHHS.

Public Domain Notice

All material appearing in this document is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Citation of the source is appreciated. However, this publication may not be reproduced or distributed for a fee without the specific, written authorization of the Office of Communications, SAMHSA, DHHS.

Electronic Access and Copies of Publication

This publication may be accessed electronically through the following Internet World Wide Web connection: www.refugeewellbeing.samhsa.gov. For additional free copies of this document, please call SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647.

Recommended Citation

Research Triangle Institute. Refugee Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Toolkit. CMHS-SVP-0116. Rockville, MD: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005.

Originating Office

Refugee Mental Health Program, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857

CMHS-SVP-0116
Printed 2005

Executive Summary

Introduction

MANUAL

Part One: Developing and Implementing Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Activities for Refugee Communities
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Learning the Health Needs of Your Community
1.3 Strategies to Plan Your Community Health Program
1.4 Community Resources and Partnerships
1.5 Activities for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
1.6 Evaluating Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Activities

Part Two: Cultural Sensitivity in Health Promotion Work
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Understanding Our Shared Communities
2.3 Developing Culturally Specific Materials for Refugee Communities

Part Three: Resources for Promoting Health in Refugee Communities
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Navigating the U.S. Health Care System
3.3 Information on Community Programs You Can Start
3.4 Information on Health Screening
3.5 Information on Specific Health Concerns for Refugee Communities

TRAINING GUIDE FOR MANUAL

HEALTH PROMOTION ARTICLE

Congratulations on your interest in promoting the health and well-being of refugee groups in your community. Often, health is a challenge refugees face in leaving their original countries and settling in new communities. It is the reason why the Office of Refugee Resettlement, in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services' Refugee Mental Health Program, and the Office of Global Health Affairs, has launched POINTS OF WELLNESS-Partnering for Refugee Health and Well-Being. The goal of this initiative is to improve the long-term health of refugees in the United States.

This toolkit, Refugee Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Toolkit, is a key part of the POINTS OF WELLNESS initiative. It shows community organizations how to find partners and resources and how to plan and carry out health promotion activities so that refugees have the opportunity to feel strong, active, wise, and worthwhile.

In this toolkit, you will find

This toolkit comprises many parts. We recommend that you start by looking through the manual. It provides steps and information on planning and carrying out health promotion activities. You will see that it offers guidance on how to begin health promotion activities in your community and how to find the resources to carry them out. It also provides information on how health promotion activities can be tailored to fit the needs of refugee groups in your community. The review article in this toolkit will give additional background information if you have questions about the area of health promotion and disease prevention.

After you have reviewed the manual and its content, you may want to take a look at the video that is part of this toolkit. The video provides an overview of the challenges and possibilities for promoting health among refugee groups. You can show the video alone or use it with the training guide and PowerPoint slides to encourage others to help improve the health of refugees in your community.

We hope that in receiving this toolkit, you see it as an important tool for assisting refugee communities. Your organization's contributions can make a difference in improving the overall well-being of refugees in the United States.

Since you are reviewing this toolkit, prepared by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services' Refugee Mental Health Program, and the Office of Global Health Affairs, you most likely are interested in and concerned about the health and well-being of refugees in your community. However, you may not be sure which health issue is of greatest concern or how your organization can make a difference. This toolkit can help. It can be a general guide to help you conduct health promotion and disease prevention activities in your community.


Some people think of health simply as the absence of any disease or illness in a person. It is very important to help prevent diseases and illnesses among people. But promoting health requires more than preventing diseases and illnesses. Health is about having balance, both personally and socially. It is a state of well-being for all the points of wellness-physical, mental, and social. In promoting health and preventing diseases, we want to make sure that people are free of diseases or illnesses, but also that they have all the opportunities to feel strong, active, wise, and worthwhile.


Refugee groups form a special health population in the United States. Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their home country. They are unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugees face many challenges to their health and well-being in having to leave their home and in coming to live in a new country.

While waiting to migrate, refugees often are exposed to infectious and parasitic diseases as well as to physical and psychic trauma. During migration, they also can encounter malnutrition and exposure to the elements, along with continued physical and psychic trauma. Once in the United States, refugees may face such problems as racism, unemployment, and crime when resettling into their communities. They also are at increased susceptibility to such chronic diseases as obesity, heart disease, or diabetes. When you are promoting health and preventing diseases in your community, it is important to think about the immediate health challenges that confront refugees and their overall well-being.


The purpose of this toolkit is to help community organizations engage in activities to promote health and prevent diseases among refugee populations. It offers practical information and guidance so that you can work toward improving the quality of life and toward reducing health disparities for refugees in your community.



This toolkit is designed for community organizations. In the broadest sense, this group includes any individuals who are concerned about refugee health and who are willing to work with others to solve basic issues affecting the health of refugees in their community.

Appropriate organizations may include churches or other faith-based groups, mutual assistance associations (MAAs), and nonprofit organizations interested in assisting refugee members in their community. Other organizations might consist of people who share a similar ethnic or cultural background and who want to lend a hand. Often, such groups have cultural knowledge and skills, including languages, which are critical to providing assistance. In some cases, a new organization may come from among the refugee community's leaders, with their own members seeking ways to address common problems.

Community organizations are uniquely positioned to play an important role in improving personal health in refugee communities, because they often are more equipped to know the local resources available to help. Whether your organization is from outside the refugee community or at the heart of it, the potential exists to make a difference in the health and lives of others.

 

A. Manual
This manual is designed to be used by organizations to develop programs and activities in communities that can promote health and prevent diseases effectively, either through changing people's behaviors or by providing greater access to the health resources in a community.

The manual is divided into three parts:

B. Training Resources
Along with the manual, you will find a training guide for the manual, various presentation materials, a health promotion article, a video, and a CD containing an electronic version of the manual and PowerPoint slides. These are designed to help your organization effectively share the information in the manual with its members and the community.



Because different types of organizations might be interested in using the manual, it is organized to function in two ways:

We hope the information provided in the toolkit will encourage and assist you with your efforts to promote health and prevent disease among the members of your community.

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