The impact of postresettlement stressors and access to health care on health outcomes in recently resettled refugees in the United States
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9055061 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David T Lardier (0000-0002-7236-2049, University of New Mexico), Julia Meredith He (0000-0002-5883-9541, University of New Mexico), Julia Hess, Lucas Winter (University of New Mexico), Jessica R Goodkind (0000-0002-2038-0878, University of New Mexico) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 93 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 516-531 |
| Publication date | 2023-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9432 • E-ISSN: 1939-0025 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/ort0000697 |
| PMID | 37650800 |
| OpenAlex | W4386305666 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 13 |
This mixed-methods study examines mechanisms connecting the deployment of economic, social, and health care resources to emotional distress and physical health outcomes. Examining such mechanisms is critical for informing strategies, policies, and other interventions for reducing health disparities and improving refugee health in the United States and other resettlement contexts. Data for this study were collected as part of a randomized control trial in a mid-sized city in the Southwestern United States. Two-hundred ninety recently resettled (< 3 years) refugee adults from 143 households were enrolled in the study (36.2% Afghan, 32.8% Iraqi/Syrian, and 31.0% Great Lakes African; 52% women). Qualitative interview data were collected via semistructured interviews. A longitudinal structural equation path model of quantitative data from three time points over 12 months tested hypotheses that emerged from qualitative findings. In semistructured interviews, refugees in the United States (a) attributed the development of worse or new physical health problems to postresettlement stressors related to financial instability and limited social support that contributed to their emotional distress and (b) reported several barriers to accessing health care in the United States, including insufficient knowledge of health care resources, inadequate patient-provider communication, and navigating complex American health insurance systems, all of which exacerbated their physical health problems. Guided by these qualitative findings, longitudinal quantitative data revealed that: (a) postmigration stressors were associated with emotional distress and poor self-reported physical health, (b) emotional distress mediated the association between postmigration stressors and global health satisfaction, and (c) emotional distress was negatively associated with global health satisfaction. Findings document stressors refugees experience in the context of the unique environment created by the American health care system and how these stressors contribute to poor physical health through increased emotional distress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Distress · Environmental health · Health care · Political science · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Refugee · Social support · Stressor · Clinical Psychology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global Health Workforce Issues · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology
Refugees’ experiences of healthcare in the host country
Healthcare Barriers of Refugees Post-resettlement
Bosnian Immigrants' Perceptions of the United States Health Care System
A Mixed-method Study of the Effects of Post-migration Economic Stressors on the Mental Health of Recently Resettled Refugees
Modeling Time-Dependent Association in Longitudinal Data
Differences in Self-Reported Health and Unmet Health Needs Between Government Assisted and Privately Sponsored Syrian Refugees
Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Cambodian Refugees
The relationship between self-rated health and objective health status
Experiencing ‘pathologized presence and normalized absence’; understanding health related experiences and access to health care among Iraqi and Somali asylum seekers, refugees and persons without legal status
Randomized Controlled Trial of a Multilevel Intervention to Address Social Determinants of Refugee Mental Health
Effectiveness of a Community-Based Advocacy and Learning Program for Hmong Refugees
The Health of Immigrants and Refugees in Canada
Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Health Inequalities
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |