Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 20, Issue 2, 2018, Pages 370-379

Adolescent Burmese Refugees Perspectives on Determinants of Health (Article)

Dixit A. , Miner E.M. , Wiehe S.E. , McHenry M.S.*
  • a Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
  • b Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
  • c Children’s Health Services Research, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, 410 W 10th St, HS2000, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States
  • d Children’s Health Services Research, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, 410 W 10th St, HS2000, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States

Abstract

Over 70,000 Burmese refugees have resettled in the United States in the past decade. While Burmese adolescents quickly acculturate into American society, their perspectives on health are not well-known. The purpose of this study was to identify adolescent Burmese refugee perspectives on determinants of health and health-related experiences after resettlement. In this qualitative study, Burmese adolescents took photographs depicting health-related experiences that were used as elicitation tools during focus groups. These discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes. Participants described positive determinants of health, including family and church. Rampant tobacco use was identified by the participants as a determinant of poor health within the Burmese community. Notably, the participants were proud to serve as liaisons within their community, despite the stressful nature of this role. Our results highlight the need to screen this population for anxiety, secondary to serving as a liaison for their community, as well as tobacco use. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Author Keywords

qualitative research Burmese determinants of health Refugees Adolescents

Index Keywords

information processing refugee health disparity Health Status Disparities human epidemiology Refugees social determinants of health ethnology qualitative research Cross-Sectional Studies United States cross-sectional study Humans psychology smoking Adolescent Asian Americans male Asian American female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics Myanmar Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice attitude to health Focus Groups
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85027866203&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-017-0648-7&partnerID=40&md5=5532026e347b3ae860bc7b5650ae289b
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-017-0648-7
ISSN: 15571912
Original Language: English