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Healthcare Access for Iraqi Refugee Children in Texas: Persistent Barriers, Potential Solutions, and Policy Implications

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Abstract

To identify access barriers to healthcare and potential interventions to improve access for Iraqi refugee children. Four focus groups were conducted using consecutive sampling of Iraqi refugee parents residing in the US for 8 months to 5 years. Eight key-informant interviews also were conducted with employees of organizations serving Iraqi refugee families, recruited using snowball sampling. Focus groups and interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using margin coding and grounded theory. Iraqi refugees identified provider availability, Medicaid maintenance and renewal, language issues, and inadequate recognition of post-traumatic stress disorder as barriers to care for their children. Interviewees cited loss of case-management services and difficulties in understanding the Medicaid renewal process as barriers. Potential interventions to improve access include community-oriented efforts to educate parents on Medicaid renewal, obtaining services, and accessing specialists. Given the enduring nature of language and Medicaid renewal barriers, policies addressing eligibility alone are insufficient.

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Acknowledgment

Dr. Shetgiri was supported by Grant Number K23HD068401 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD or the National Institutes of Health. David Vermette was supported by the UT Southwestern Summer Medical Student Research Program. The authors have no financial relationships to disclose.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75390-9063, USA

    David Vermette, Rashmi Shetgiri & Glenn Flores

  2. Division of General Pediatrics, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    David Vermette, Rashmi Shetgiri & Glenn Flores

  3. Mosaic Family Services, Dallas, TX, USA

    Haidar Al Zuheiri

Authors
  1. David Vermette
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  2. Rashmi Shetgiri
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  3. Haidar Al Zuheiri
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  4. Glenn Flores
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Correspondence to David Vermette.

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Vermette, D., Shetgiri, R., Al Zuheiri, H. et al. Healthcare Access for Iraqi Refugee Children in Texas: Persistent Barriers, Potential Solutions, and Policy Implications. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 1526–1536 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0110-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0110-z

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