Refugee Health in Philadelphia

Objectives Define the U.S. refugee resettlement process Discuss the history of refugee health in Philadelphia and the creation of the Jefferson Center for Refugee Health Review selected data on our patients Learn how to utilize new resources to care for refugee

Providing for the Medical and Social Needs of Newly Resettled Refugees in Philadelphia

According to Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) data,Pennsylvania received 2,155 refugees during the 2009 fiscalyear.1 The primary countries of origin of these refugees wereBurma, Bhutan, and Iraq. The number of refugees whoresettled to Philadelphia County in 2009 totaled 597 persons.The nationalities of the refugees who resettled to PhiladelphiaCounty are representative of state statistics

Vaccine-preventable diseases and foreign-born populations

Foreign-born individuals account for over 12% of the U.S. population, according to the most recent census data. Since many vaccine-preventable outbreaks in the U.S. have been correlated with disease importation, Congress has mandated vaccinations for numerous immigrant populations. It is essential for primary care physicians to be knowledgeable on the unique immunization-related needs of foreign-born individuals, to recognize some of the cultural and linguistic challenges that immigrants have accessing healthcare, and remember to use each medical encounter as an opportunity to provide necessary vaccinations

Normalized Healthcare Utilization Among Refugees Resettled in Philadelphia, 2007-2016

Background/Purpose: About 70,000 new refugees are resettled in the United States each year, of which approximately 600 are resettled in Philadelphia. This project seeks to better understand the patterns of healthcare utilization, including primary care, emergency, and hospitalization, among refugees resettled in Philadelphia, PA, between 2007 and 2016. Methods: Demographic and healthcare utilization data for 1,144 refugees seen at Jefferson Family Medical Associates were compiled from the Jefferson Longitudinal Refugee Health Registry. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic characteristics of the refugee population. Negative binomial count regressions were used to test for significant correlations between major demographic variables and healthcare utilization. Results: Refugees had an average of 7.24 (SD = 9.35) and a median of 4 primary care visits. Visits rates were highest during the first eight months post resettlement and declined significantly after expiration of Refugee Medical Assistance. Country of origin and year of arrival were significantly associated with differing rates of healthcare utilization. Discussion: Overall, refugees utilized primary healthcare services at a slightly higher rate than the U.S. average. There are differences in utilization among various sub-populations within the refugee community. Future studies should further explore these differences in healthcare utilization patterns among recently resettled refugees

Improving Resulted Hemoglobin A1c Rates: A Feasibility Study for Point-of-Care Hemoglobin A1c Testing at an Urban Family Medicine Office

Study Aims: Our practice’s goal is to increase the number of up to date hemoglobin A1c for diabetic patients seen at JFMA in order to help improve glycemic control The aim of this study is to see if point of care (POC) hemoglobin A1C is a feasible way to increase the number of up to date hemoglobin A1C. We looked at various factors including timing, training, and flow.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/patientsafetyposters/1037/thumbnail.jp

Wigner-Dyson Statistics from the Replica Method

We compute the correlation functions of the eigenvalues in the Gaussian unitary ensemble using the fermionic replica method. We show that non--trivial saddle points, which break replica symmetry, must be included in the calculation in order to reproduce correctly the exact results for the correlation functions at large distance.Comment: 13 pages, added reference

Designing for Community Engagement: User-Friendly Refugee Wellness Center Planning Process and Concept, a Health Design Case Study

BACKGROUND: Refugee and immigrant populations have diverse cultural factors that affect their access to health care and must be considered when building a new clinical space. Health design thinking can help a clinical team evaluate and consolidate these factors while maintaining close contact with architects, patients\u27 community leaders, and hospital or institutional leadership. A diverse group of clinicians, medical students, community leaders and architects planned a clinic devoted to refugee and immigrant health, a first-of-its-kind for South Philadelphia. METHODS: The planning process and concept design of this wellness center is presented as a design case study to demonstrate how principles and methods of human-centered design were used to create a community clinic. Design thinking begins with empathizing with the end users\u27 experiences before moving to ideation and prototyping of a solution. These steps were accomplished through focus groups, a design workshop, and iterations of the center\u27s plan. RESULTS: Focus groups were thematically analyzed and generated two themes of access and resources and seven subthemes that informed the design workshop. A final floor plan of the wellness center was selected, incorporating priorities of all stakeholders and addressing issues of disease prevention, social determinants of health, and lifestyle-related illness that were relevant to the patient population. CONCLUSIONS: Design thinking methods are useful for health care organizations that must adapt to the needs of diverse stakeholders and especially populations that are underserved or displaced. While much has been written on the theory and stages of design thinking, this study is novel in describing this methodology from the beginning to the end of the process of planning a clinical space with input from the patient population. This study thus serves as a proof of concept of the application of design thinking in planning clinical spaces

On-Site Test Collection Intervention Improves Lead Screening Rates at an Urban Family Medicine Practice

Study Aims: Examine the effect of on-site lead screening collection on resulted lead screening rates.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/patientsafetyposters/1018/thumbnail.jp

Barriers and Facilitators To Cervical Cancer Screening Among Iraqi Refugees Resettled in Philadelphia: A Qualitative Analysis of Patient and Provider Perceptions

Oral presentation at the 6th Annual North American Refugee Health Conference, Niagara Falls, New York. Research Questions: 1. What is the prevalence of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening among recently resettled refugees seen at Jefferson\u27s Center for Refugee Health? 2. Are patient-and provider-identified barriers to cervical cancer screening at CRH consistent with those identified in previous research efforts? 3. What are patient-and provider identified facilitators to cervical cancer screening for Iraqi refugee women