Developing and validating a HEalthCare NAvigation Competency (HECNAC) Scale for refugees in the United States.

ABSTRACT: The complex healthcare system in the United States (US) poses significant challenges for people, particularly minorities such as refugees. Refugees often encounter additional layers of challenges to healthcare navigation due to unfamiliarity with the system, limited health literacy, and language barriers. Despite their challenges, it is difficult to identify the gaps as few tools exist to measure navigation competency among this population and many conventional tools assume English proficiency, making them inadequate for refugees and other immigrants. To address this gap, this study developed and validated a HEalthCare NAvigation Competency (HECNAC) Scale tailored to refugees' needs. The scale development process followed three phases: domain identification through a literature review and

SUBMITTER: Yeo S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11781618 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature