Importance of Interprofessional Healthcare for Vulnerable Refugee Populations.

The refugee population in the United States is steadily increasing. These populations face a plethora of diseases and chronic health problems (i.e. obesity, hypertension and depression) as they resettle into their new environment. Due to the lack of understanding, minority population refugee health is scarce and minimal at best. Refugees and healthcare professionals face similar barriers when it comes to seeking treatment and treatment itself. For example, refugees might not be able to communicate efficiently and understand the referral process while healthcare professionals do not understand the culture and language of their patients. However, more data is needed to determine if interprofessional teams consisting of differing healthcare professionals such as nurses, pharmacists, and dieticians that conduct home visits might be able to bridge the health care gap between individualized treatment and refugee needs.

Spatial and Census Data to Evaluate Obese Persons and their Environment (SCOPE).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the built environment and its relationship to BMI for individuals in eastern Idaho. METHODS: Geospatial analyses were coupled to demographic data of adult individuals. ArcGIS Community Analyst was used to compare demographics relative to median BMI. RESULTS: For every kilometer increase in distance to prepared food sites, BMI went down by 1.3% and every kilometer increase in distance to green space, BMI went down by 0.8% (p < .001). For every kilometer increase in distance to trails, BMI went up by 1.5%. No other built environment variables had a statistically significant association with BMI. CONCLUSION: The distance to prepared foods and trails was associated with expected changes in BMI. Conversely, increased distance to green space was associated with a lower BMI.