Impact of Enhanced Health Interventions for United States-Bound Refugees: Evaluating Best Practices in Migration Health.

ABSTRACT: With an unprecedented number of displaced persons worldwide, strategies for improving the health of migrating populations are critical. United States-bound refugees undergo a required overseas medical examination to identify inadmissible conditions (e.g., tuberculosis) 2-6 months before resettlement, but it is limited in scope and may miss important, preventable infectious, chronic, or nutritional causes of morbidity. We sought to evaluate the feasibility and health impact of diagnosis and management of such conditions before travel. We offered voluntary testing for intestinal parasites, anemia, and hepatitis B virus infection, to U.S.-bound refugees from three Thailand-Burma border camps. Treatment and preventive measures (e.g., anemia and parasite treatment, vaccination) were initiated b

SUBMITTER: Mitchell T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5930906 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature