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Somali immigrant women and the American health care system: Discordant beliefs, divergent expectations, and silent worries

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  • Pavlish, Carol Lynn
  • Noor, Sahra
  • Brandt, Joan

Abstract

The civil war in Somalia resulted in massive resettlement of Somali refugees. The largest diaspora of Somali refugees in the United States currently reside in Minnesota. Partnering with three community organizations in 2007-8, we implemented the Community Connections and Collaboration Project to address health disparities that Somali refugees experienced. Specifically, we examined factors that influenced Somali women's health experiences. Utilizing a socio-ecological perspective and a social action research design, we conducted six community-based focus groups with 57 Somali women and interviewed 11 key informants including Somali healthcare professionals. Inductively coding, sorting and reducing data into categories, we analyzed each category for specific patterns. The categorical findings on healthcare experiences are reported here. We found that Somali women's health beliefs related closely to situational factors and contrasted sharply with the biological model that drives Western medicine. These discordant health beliefs resulted in divergent expectations regarding treatment and healthcare interactions. Experiencing unmet expectations, Somali women and their healthcare providers reported multiple frustrations which often diminished perceived quality of health care. Moreover, silent worries about mental health and reproductive decision making surfaced. To provide high quality, transcultural health care, providers must encourage patients to voice their own health explanations, expectations, and worries.

Suggested Citation

  • Pavlish, Carol Lynn & Noor, Sahra & Brandt, Joan, 2010. "Somali immigrant women and the American health care system: Discordant beliefs, divergent expectations, and silent worries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 353-361, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:2:p:353-361
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    Cited by:

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    2. Fadi W Adel & Eden Bernstein & Michael Tcheyan & Shane Ali & Heidi Worabo & Moshtagh Farokhi & Andrew E Muck, 2019. "San Antonio refugees: Their demographics, healthcare profiles, and how to better serve them," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Viladrich, Anahí, 2012. "Beyond welfare reform: Reframing undocumented immigrants’ entitlement to health care in the United States, a critical review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 822-829.
    4. Yao, Jing & Murray, Alan T. & Agadjanian, Victor, 2013. "A geographical perspective on access to sexual and reproductive health care for women in rural Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 60-68.
    5. Kafuli Agbemenu & Ellen M Volpe & Ervin Dyer, 2018. "Reproductive health decision‐making among US‐dwelling Somali Bantu refugee women: A qualitative study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(17-18), pages 3355-3362, September.
    6. Lum, Irene D. & Swartz, Rebecca H. & Kwan, Matthew Y.W., 2016. "Accessibility and use of primary healthcare for immigrants living in the Niagara Region," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 73-79.
    7. Parkinson, Sarah E. & Behrouzan, Orkideh, 2015. "Negotiating health and life: Syrian refugees and the politics of access in Lebanon," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 324-331.
    8. Lightfoot, Elizabeth & Blevins, Jennifer & Lum, Terry & Dube, Amano, 2016. "Cultural Health Assets of Somali and Oromo Refugees and Immigrants in Minnesota: Findings from a Community-Based Participatory Research Project," SocArXiv h9cex, Center for Open Science.

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