3.5 Conclusion

Key Learning Points

Here are the key learning points for this module:

  1. Refugees may present with a wide range of illnesses- a medical expert must be aware of global patterns of burden of disease.
  2. Experts must develop skills to diagnosing tropical infectious diseases that are rare in Western countries.
  3. Forced migration exposes refugees to potential trauma, precarious living conditions, and disease.
  4. The medical expert needs to be aware of the many barriers to health information and health care that refugees may face.
  5. In addition, the medical experts must also be aware of health systems and health practitioners-level barriers that also exist.
  6. Working with refugees often entails working in resource-limited settings; thus, the medical expert needs to be adaptable and develop skills in response to cultural and linguistic diversity. i.e. working with traditional healers to provide the best possible care.
  7. Cultural identity and lived experience in older immigrants and refugees must be considered as a component of an individual’s holistic care.
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Host Closure Video

Read the video transcript

Hi, so you’ve come to the end of our module, the X factor: the medical expert in refugee health. As the name implies, the X factor in refugee health is that indefinable something that makes the experience of working with refugees so incredible. Yes it has its challenges, but the rewards are undeniable.


Duration: 21 seconds

Authors

Doug Gruner, Kevin Pottie, Mariella Ferreyra, Ayesha Ratnayake, Omar Ezzat, Kate Merritt

References

  1. Eddleston M, Pierini S. (1999) Oxford Handbook of Tropical Medicine, Oxford University Press
  2. Pottie K, Ortiz L, tur Kuile A. Preparing for diversity: improving preventive health care for immigrants. Our Diverse Cities, Metropolis 2008 Mar 3
  3. K. Khan, C. Heidebrecht, J. Sears, A. Chan, M. Rashid, C. Greenaway, W. Stauffer, L. Narasiah, K. Pottie, Intestinal Parasites: Strongyloides and Schistosomiasis: Evidence review for newly arriving immigrants and refugees.  CMAJ in press http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/collection/canadian_guidelines_for_immigrant_health
  4. C. Greenaway, M. Munoz, E. Barnett, A. Sandoe, E. Ueffing, K. Pottie, S. Kuhn, J. Keystone, Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus (DTap and Tdap) & Polio: Evidence review for newly arriving immigrants and refugees.  CMAJ in press http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/collection/canadian_guidelines_for_immigrant_health
  5. Ben-Shlomo, Y., Mamluk, L., & Redwood, S. (2019). A life-course perspective on migrant health. In Migrant Health A Primary Care Perspective (pp. 77-89). New York, New York: Taylor and Francis Group. doi:https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351017190