Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
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Womens Health Issues · Sep 2015
Bosnian, Iraqi, and Somali Refugee Women Speak: A Comparative Qualitative Study of Refugee Health Beliefs on Preventive Health and Breast Cancer Screening.
The low uptake of preventive services in disadvantaged communities is a continuing challenge to public health. Women refugee communities are particularly vulnerable populations, and disparities in both preventive care and breast cancer screening have been documented sparsely. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore Bosnian, Iraqi, and Somali women refugees' beliefs about preventive care and breast cancer screening to inform future community interventions and best practices. ⋯ Taken together, duration of time in United States and prior exposure to Western medicine account for differences in refugee women's knowledge of preventive care. Understanding population-specific health beliefs, health information, and behavior are crucial for designing tailored prevention programs for refugee women.