Healthcare for Immigrants and Refugees

With the changing demographics in the population of the United States, healthcare providers across the country will continue to see significant numbers of individuals and families who have immigrated to the U.S. or applied for refugee/asylee status here. Many of these newcomers are from countries where the national culture is dramatically different from that of the United States. Though the rate of immigration today is actually lower than during the last era of mass migration, when Europeans came in droves from the Old World, the absolute number of immigrants in the United States is currently at an all-time high. It is important for health care providers to understand the special challenges some of these patients and families present due to the stresses they may have endured before coming to the U.S. and the extreme hardships many face in trying to establish themselves in this country.