Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 16, Issue 4, 2014, Pages 733-742

Barriers to healthcare access among refugees with disabilities and chronic health conditions resettled in the US Midwest (Article)

Mirza M.* , Luna R. , Mathews B. , Hasnain R. , Hebert E. , Niebauer A. , Mishra U.D.
  • a Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Applied Health Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 W. Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60612, United States
  • b Access Living Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
  • c Access Living Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
  • d Department of Asian American Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
  • e Heartland Human Care Services, Inc., Chicago, IL, United States
  • f World Relief, Dupage/Aurora, IL, United States
  • g Heartland Health Outreach, Chicago, IL, United States

Abstract

Chronic conditions and related functional disabilities are highly prevalent among resettled refugees in the United States. There is a need to explore this population's access to appropriate healthcare services in order to identify service disparities and improve interventions. Using a community-based participatory research approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants to identify healthcare access barriers affecting disabled and chronically ill refugees. Eighteen participants were interviewed, revealing three main barriers: (1) inadequate health insurance, (2) language and communication barriers, and (3) a complex maze of service systems. These barriers were found to operate at systems, provider, and individual levels. Broad-based policy and practice interventions are required to address barriers including: an expanded pool of medical interpreters, peer navigators, innovative health information technologies, and greater collaboration and information-sharing between service systems. Further research is needed to monitor the impact the Affordable Care Act on service access of refugees with disabilities and chronic conditions. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

Disability Refugee health health disparities healthcare access Chronic illness

Index Keywords

refugee health care policy insurance Disabled Persons human Insurance Coverage Refugees disabled person statistics and numerical data language chronic disease interview United States Humans Interviews as Topic male female Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act participatory research Community-Based Participatory Research Health Services Accessibility Midwestern United States health care delivery
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84904341640&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-013-9906-5&partnerID=40&md5=d06afc55f5ebe4675e1559f05f93747c
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-013-9906-5
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 32
Original Language: English