Asunto(s)
Cultura , Atención a la Salud/normas , Refugiados , Comunicación , Violencia Doméstica , Humanos , Salud Mental , Obstetricia , Cooperación del Paciente , Pediatría , Medicina Preventiva , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
Each year, conflicts escalate the need for women, children, and men to seek refuge outside their home countries, and the United States and Canada provide asylum for many of these refugees. However, few researchers have investigated the health status of specific populations of refugees sojourning or newly arrived in the United States. As nurses at a Buffalo, New York, refugee shelter for Canada-bound asylum seekers, we provided health assessments to this group of refugees at their on-site clinic. Pregnant women were of major concern, being potentially at risk for poor pregnancy outcomes. We found that our sample of pregnant refugees had several previously undetected health problems and suggest that further research on refugee populations is needed.
Asunto(s)
Estado de Salud , Embarazo de Alto Riesgo , Refugiados , Salud de la Mujer , Adolescente , Adulto , Femenino , Necesidades y Demandas de Servicios de Salud , Indicadores de Salud , Humanos , Masculino , New York , Evaluación en Enfermería , Embarazo , Resultado del EmbarazoRESUMEN
The relationship between sociodemographic, biological, and prenatal care characteristics, and participation rates of pregnant women in the Special Supplemental Food Program For Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was studied by interviewing 200 postpartum patients in a Buffalo, NY, hospital between October 1988 and January 1989. Among the 136 women eligible for the program, 94 (69 percent) participated during their index pregnancies. WIC participation was found to be highly associated with source of prenatal care and having made more frequent prenatal visits. WIC was related to having fewer children and earlier initiation of prenatal care. Multivariate analysis showed that program participation remained highly associated with the source of prenatal care and the number of prenatal visits, when combined with other factors considered, such as age, education, marital status, number of living children, and timing of initial prenatal visit. The results suggest the need for a WIC enrollment effort directed to providers of prenatal care, who would be urged to encourage women to seek early and adequate prenatal care through the program.