Refugees are individuals who flee their homeland to escape persecution, leaving behind everything they own and know. If there is not a way for them to return home, they are sometimes invited to resettle in another country. The United States annually invites many thousands of refugees to start over in this country. Since 2007, Indiana has resettled more than 1500 refugees per year, primarily Burmese refugees.
One of the benefits offered to refugees when they first arrive in the United States is a health screening. It is a goal of the Indiana State Department of Health Refugee Health Program that refugees are referred to a medical home after screening so that their health care needs continue to be met.
Many issues can complicate the health care provided to refugees. When the refugee and health care provider (and health care system) come from different cultures and speak different languages, the risk for miscommunication is great.
This conference will address the new reality in Indiana of treating patients from every part of the planet. Three internationally known practitioners will present best practices based on their decades of work with refugees: bridging cultural differences; working with interpreters; addressing common infectious/non-infectious diseases in refugees; identifying mental health care needs in refugees.
For more information, please contact Helen Townsend, Refugee Health Coordinator at ISDH at 317-233-1321 or htownsend@isdh.in.gov.
Payment must be made by check to the order of the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). The check and a copy of the registration should be mailed to: ISDH, Attn: Helen Townsend, Refugee Health Coordinator, 2 North Meridian, Section 6-D, Indianapolis, IN 46204.