As immigrants and refugees enter the United States from an increasing number of countries throughout the world, health care practitioners need to be more aware of health problems that they may have encountered only rarely in the past. Practitioners must also be aware of the impact that different backgrounds, environments, and experiences may have on the occurrence of specific health problems or on the progress of a disease. Furthermore, our understanding of the effectiveness (or lack of effectiveness) of "standard" treatments among the many different groups that make up our American culture continues to grow.
This topic has three sections. The first provides a brief overview to some of the common health problems among newly arrived immigrants and refugees. The health problems discussed include tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Parasites, Incomplete Immunization, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Malaria, Lead Poisoning, and Female Genital Mutilation.
The second section briefly discusses the susceptibility of different groups to health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, or different types of cancer. The groups discussed include:
Please note that these categories of regions and groups are somewhat arbitrary. We appreciate your understanding and tolerance for our need to use categories to organize the large amount of information.
The third section provides a quick overview of reactions to standard medical treatments among different groups and provides a link to more information.
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