Refugees from Myanmar and their Health Care Needs in the US: A Qualitative Study at a Refugee Resettlement Agency

In response to the recent rapid influx of refugees from Myanmar, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM), a refugee resettlement agency, started to support them in June 2007. The study looked at the refugees' perspectives and identified the gaps in their understanding of the US health care system, health-seeking behaviors and challenges in using health care in the United States. The major issues identified were non-compliance with tuberculosis prevention medication due to barriers to obtaining medication refills, barriers to accessing speciality care services, transportation issues, written and oral language barriers, difficulties in applying for and using Medicaid and Gold Card, misunderstanding of emergency health services, lack of resources for health education, self-treatment with Western medicine and income too low to buy private health insurance. In order to transform them into healthy citizens able to contribute to the US workforce, several multi-faceted and comprehensive approaches and better co-ordination between agencies are recommended.