Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 19, Issue 1, 2017, Pages 15-23

Health Status of North Korean Refugees in Toronto: A Community Based Participatory Research Study (Article)

Dorman K.* , Bozinoff N. , Redditt V. , Kim E. , Glazier R.H. , Rashid M.
  • a Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, Moose Factory, ON, Canada
  • b British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • c Crossroads Clinic, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Women’s College Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • d Community Advisory Board, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • e Department of Family and Community Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Centre for Research on Inner City Health, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • f Crossroads Clinic, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Women’s College Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Abstract

Increasing numbers of North Koreans are fleeing their country due to economic insecurity and political persecution, with over 1000 North Koreans Refugee (NKR) claims in Canada in the past decade. There is little published on their health. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology, we investigated NKR health status through a retrospective chart review of 1022 patients rostered at a Toronto refugee clinic between December 2011 and June 2014. The health status of 117 NKRs was compared to that of 905 other refugees seen during the same period. There were lower rates of chronic diseases, including obesity and elevated blood pressure, among NKRs. Conversely, some infectious diseases were more prevalent, including hepatitis B and chlamydia. Female NKRs had higher rates of abnormal cervical cytology. This study uniquely uses CBPR methodology to examine the health of NKRs, and can help guide targeted interventions in this population. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

Primary health care Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Communicable diseases Refugees Community-based participatory research

Index Keywords

refugee Alcohol Drinking drinking behavior Democratic People's Republic of Korea human epidemiology Communicable Diseases Refugees middle aged statistics and numerical data health status chronic disease ethnology Young Adult Humans smoking Adolescent Infant, Newborn Canada male preschool child Socioeconomic Factors Infant Child, Preschool newborn female socioeconomics North Korea prevalence Retrospective Studies communicable disease adult participatory research Community-Based Participatory Research retrospective study Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84946143910&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-015-0307-9&partnerID=40&md5=2d3ecf2be1d8d03f001d0cbe55175470
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-015-0307-9
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 3
Original Language: English