Providers

Resources available for download

The Center of Excellence for Newcomer Health in Minnesota launched a toolkit, which is both informational and action-oriented, to empower healthcare providers to give culturally informed reproductive health care to newly arrived Afghans. Each section is equipped with a combination of supplemental trainings and resources for providers and translated educational handouts in Dari and Pashto.

Research Poster: Reproductive Health Literacy Scale: A Tool for Refugee Women Empowerment

Authors: Zahra Goliaei,MD,MPH,PHD, Maha Rauf,BS, Israa Al-Jumaa,BS, Asiya Yama,BS, Jenny Chang, MPH, Lana Machta,BS, Heike Thiel de Bocanegra,PHD,MPH

Under affiliation with University of California, School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Touro University, School of Medicine, Public Health Program Authors:

Research Poster: Improving Reproductive Health Among Afghan and Arab Refugees Through Innovative Reproductive Health Literacy Training

Authors: Maha Rauf, BS, Zahra Goliaei, MD, MPH, PhD, Israa Al-Jumaa, BS, Asiya Yama, BS, Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH

Under affiliation with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California Irvine, School of Medicine, and Touro University, School of Medicine, Public Health Program.

Webinar: Reproductive and Maternal Health Issues Among Afghan Arrivals

Illinois Department of Public Health, Refugee Health Program October 25, 2022

Presenter: Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH

FAMILY PLANNING

Refugee women’s experiences with contraceptive care after resettlement in high-income countries: A critical interpretive synthesis.

This review examined shared aspects of the refugee experience that impact women’s access to high-quality contraceptive care and transcend the particularities of specific health systems or countries of origin. These include possible shifts in gendered norms and fertility preferences after resettlement, prior experiences with contraception in home countries, refugee camps, and other sites of first-asylum, and negative experiences with health care providers after resettlement (i.e., communication barriers or experiencing discrimination). Full citation: Chalmiers MA, Karaki F, Muriki M, Mody SK, Chen A, Thiel de Bocanegra H. Refugee women’s experiences with contraceptive care after resettlement in high-income countries: A critical interpretive synthesis. Contraception. 2021 Dec 29:S0010-7824(21)00466-2. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2021.11.004. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34971601.

INTEGRATING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH TOPICS IN REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMS

ReproNet conducted a study to determine how well online video conference platforms (e.g. Zoom) could serve as a space for health discussions for refugee women. The brief providers several characteristics to meaningfully engage on a virtual platform with facilitation through community connections, ensuring women’s communication autonomy, offering technological access and support, and guaranteeing confidentiality and all-female groups.

ReproNet Refugee Symposium

On November 8, 2021, ReproNet hosted a virtual symposium with ReproNet stakeholders summarizing and reflecting on the in-person and virtual group sessions that were held over the past 2.5 years. This symposium was held virtually over Zoom with live interpretation in Arabic, Pashto, and Dari for plenary sessions as well as breakout rooms for respective discussions in each of these languages. A total of 62 refugee women and 18 stakeholders attended, and each breakout discussion had 12-15 participants across Dari (3), Pashto (1), and Arabic (1) language groups.

Summary

Full Report

Community Readiness for Virtual Health Engagement

ReproNet conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 refugee women and stakeholders to assess factors that impact refugee women’s receptiveness for virtual platforms to obtain information and engage in discussions on reproductive health. Click here to see the report.

ReproNet developed a Checklist of Community Readiness for Virtual Health Engagement. This checklist can be used as a tool to systematically assess the experiences, resources, and limitations of using technologies with refugee groups and to elicit details that contribute to culturally appropriate planning and implementation of refugee virtual group meetings.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Glossary

The National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC- RIM) developed a Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Glossary, a standardized reference tool to SRH terms, translated from English into Dari and Pashtho. The terms have been culturally validated and reviewed by a group of Afghan subject matter experts.

English/Dari

English/Pashto