Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies
Volume 15, Issue 1, 2017, Pages 53-70

Investigating the Refugee Health Disadvantage Among the U.S. Immigrant Population (Article)

Reed H.E.* , Barbosa G.Y.
  • a Department of Sociology, Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY), Queens, NY, United States, Department of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY, United States, CUNY School of Public Health, New York, NY, United States, CUNY Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR), New York, NY, United States
  • b Department of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY, United States, CUNY Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR), New York, NY, United States

Abstract

Much health-disparities research focuses on race and ethnicity, but nativity has proved to be a crucial factor in explaining the immigrant health advantage. Foreign-born subgroups with certain immigration statuses, such as refugees, may have an initial disadvantage. Using nationally representative survey data, we explore differences in health outcomes by analyzing two visa category subgroups in the United States: refugees and nonrefugee immigrants. Our findings show that refugees have a significant disadvantage across multiple health outcomes. This suggests that current refugee health-screening practices should be changed to take into account broader issues, such as chronic disease and functional limitation. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Author Keywords

Refugee health United States Immigration status screening guidelines for immigrants health advantage

Index Keywords

health status health geography refugee ethnicity race guideline United States immigrant population
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84975270815&doi=10.1080%2f15562948.2016.1165329&partnerID=40&md5=d6dc8b145d90d2738eb421862650e579
DOI: 10.1080/15562948.2016.1165329
ISSN: 15562948
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English