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Karen refugees from Burma: focus group analysis

Karen refugees from Burma: focus group analysis Purpose – This paper's aim is to describe the health experiences of a recently arrived group of refugees, the Karen from Burma, in an American midwestern city. Design/methodology/approach – Four focus groups were conducted in their native language with 40 Karen refugees: one group of ten Sgaw Karen speaking men and one of women, one of East Pwo Karen speaking men and one of women. The focus groups and two additional individual interviews were coded using NVivo‐9. Findings – The findings emphasize the significant communication barriers experienced by the Karen. The data provide rich insights into the struggles being experienced by these new Americans in their own words and highlight some of their differences from previous Asian refugees. Research limitations/implications – These data are derived from focus groups with refugees in one city in the USA with few available demographic details. Their experiences and observations may not apply to other Burmese refugee groups in other cities and countries. Practical implications – The data emphasize the complexity of language of this group of Burmese refugees which acts as a significant barrier to accessing health care. Poor or improper interpretation has increased obstacles. Data indicate that many struggle with simple health care tasks that are likely taken for granted by most providers. There appears to be more alcohol and tobacco usage amongst both genders than in other recently arrived Asian groups. Originality/value – This is original research, which supplements a prior chart review and overview paper by the first author and supplements the otherwise scant literature on this group outside Asia. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care Emerald Publishing

Karen refugees from Burma: focus group analysis

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1747-9894
DOI
10.1108/17479891211287058
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – This paper's aim is to describe the health experiences of a recently arrived group of refugees, the Karen from Burma, in an American midwestern city. Design/methodology/approach – Four focus groups were conducted in their native language with 40 Karen refugees: one group of ten Sgaw Karen speaking men and one of women, one of East Pwo Karen speaking men and one of women. The focus groups and two additional individual interviews were coded using NVivo‐9. Findings – The findings emphasize the significant communication barriers experienced by the Karen. The data provide rich insights into the struggles being experienced by these new Americans in their own words and highlight some of their differences from previous Asian refugees. Research limitations/implications – These data are derived from focus groups with refugees in one city in the USA with few available demographic details. Their experiences and observations may not apply to other Burmese refugee groups in other cities and countries. Practical implications – The data emphasize the complexity of language of this group of Burmese refugees which acts as a significant barrier to accessing health care. Poor or improper interpretation has increased obstacles. Data indicate that many struggle with simple health care tasks that are likely taken for granted by most providers. There appears to be more alcohol and tobacco usage amongst both genders than in other recently arrived Asian groups. Originality/value – This is original research, which supplements a prior chart review and overview paper by the first author and supplements the otherwise scant literature on this group outside Asia.

Journal

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care – Emerald Publishing

Published: Nov 30, 2012

Keywords: Karen; Burma; Refugees; Sgaw Karen; Pwo Karen; Focus groups; Qualitative analysis; Disadvantaged groups; Ethnic minorities; Immigrants; United States of America; Health care

References

  • Refugees from Burma: Their Backgrounds and Refugee Experience
    Barron, S.; Okell, J.; Yin, S.W.; Vanbik, K.; Swain, A.; Larkin, E.; Allott, A.J.; Ewers, K.
  • Grounded theory
    Charmez, K.
  • Resource package: refugees from Burma
    Cultural Orientation Resource Center
  • Initial health screening results for Karen refugees: a retrospective review
    Denberg, A.; Rashid, M.; Brophy, J.; Curtis, T.; Malloy, P.; Audley, J.; Pegg, W.; Hoffman, S.; Banerji, A.
  • Karen cultural profile
    Neiman, A.; Soh, E.; Sutan, P.
  • Caring for the Karen: a newly arrived refugee group
    Power, D.V.; Moody, E.; Trussell, K.; O'Fallon, A.; Chute, S.; Letts, J.; Kyaw, M.