Refugee Health & Culture: Barriers to Access and Negotiations of Healthcare for the Karen of OC, NC (2010)

Undergraduates: Emily Carter, none none none

Faculty Advisor: Rachel Willis
Department: American Studies

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This paper explores the barriers to healthcare access for the Karen refugee population of Orange County, NC, and their negotiation of traditional versus Western medical practice throughout the resettlement process. This paper examines the Karen in Orange County as a microcosm of refugee health experience in the United States. This research attempts to fill gaps in existing research by exploring the barriers to access that exist on all levels, including institutional, societal, and cultural. In addition to analyzing existing literature on refugee healthcare and investigating local social services and healthcare providers, I conducted interviews with ten local Karen refugees. The findings showed that while logistical, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers all exist, access to language services and affordability of care had the greatest impact on access and quality of care. The findings also showed a desire in the community for access to traditional medicine to supplement but not replace Western forms of healthcare. These findings show healthcare as an intense negotiation of institutional, societal, and cultural factors, symptomatic of the acculturation process.