Topic of the Month Archives

Topic of the Month: Preparing African Immigrant Communities

Immigrants of African descent are among the fastest growing populations in the United States. As of 2008, African immigrants comprised nearly 4 percent of the foreign born population—up from 2.8 percent in 2000 and 1.8 percent in 1990. While African immigrants generally have higher levels of educational attainment and English procifiency than other immigrant groups, cultural intricacies pose barriers to fully meeting the preparedness, response and recovery needs of this growing population.   African immigrants may have particularly low-levels of trust in government, differ in their preferred modes of communication, and are less likely to be naturalized citizens than other foreign born populations. Furthermore, service providers may lack sufficient knowledge about the characteristics of distinct religious and tribal groups within this population. Below is a list of resources to inform preparedness efforts to meet the needs of African immigrant communities in disasters and public health emergencies.

Publications:

• Disaster Threats to Vulnerable Populations- Cultural Competency Critical to Disaster Threats: This report examines the association between culture and emergency preparedness and presents the results of a study of two minority communities in Maine (the Passamaquoddy tribe on Pleasant Point Reservation and the Somali refugee community in the city of Lewiston). The study identified gaps in preparedness between these communities and the general population.
• Emergency Preparedness for African Immigrants in West Philadelphia: This report presents the findings of an initiative to develop an emergency preparedness outreach strategy for African immigrant communities in West Philadelphia. Specific recommendations include those for developing and disseminating messages, distributing vaccines, and building public health department/community relationships.
• African Immigrants in the United States: This issue brief discusses trends in African immigration to the United States and the sociodemographic characteristics of this population. 

Translated Materials:

• Prevent Poisoning from Carbon Monoxide: These printable flyers explain ways to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning in circumstances when electricity is not available. The resource is available in English, Amharic, Arabic, French, Oromo, Somali, Swahili, and other languages.
• Emergency Information/911 Cards: These emergency information cards provide basic questions on a person's emergency status, as well as common answers to these questions. The resource is available in English, Kirundi, and Swahili.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - A Real Illness (Handout): This handout provides information on the symptoms and possible causes of PTSD. The resource is available in English, Arabic, Kirundi, Somali, and other languages.
• No Ordinary Flu: This resource is a comic intended to communicate pandemic flu preparedness messages to low-literacy, limited and non-English proficient groups. It illustrates the story of a survivor of the 1918 flu pandemic and connects it to the current threat of pandemic flu. The resource is available in English, Arabic, Amharic, Somali, and other languages.
• Home Isolation: Instructions for Patients: This resource provides information for people with suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza.  It encourages at-home care and provides information to help prevent spread of H1N1 to close contacts. The resource is available in English, Amharic, Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Somali, Swahili and other languages.
• Live, Intranasal Influenza Vaccine (H1N1)- What You Need to Know: This fact sheet provides information about the live, intranasal influenza vaccine for H1N1.  It explains who should be vaccinated and who should receive the live vaccine as opposed to the traditional "flu shot" or inactivated vaccine. The resource is available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Oromo, Somali, and other languages.
• Say No to Pandemic Influenza: This flyer shows how influenza is spread and how to prevent spreading the virus to others. The resource is available in English, Zulu, Afrikaans, Arabic, French, and other languages.

Recovery Assistance:

• Fact Sheet- Immigrant Eligibility for Disaster Assistance: This fact sheet provides a concise overview of the services immigrants, with and without documentation, are eligible for in the wake of a disaster.
• Immigrants and Disaster Assistance: This Immigration Law Center webpage provides links to a variety of resources on issues surrounding immigration, current legislation, and disasters. 

Key Organizations & Data Sources:

• Refugee Health Information Network: Refugee Health Information Network is a national collaborative partnership whose objective is to provide quality multilingual, health information resources for health care providers of refugees and asylees. Materials related to refugee health are available in multiple languages. Resources available include but are not limited to the topics of communicable diseases, chronic diseases, children, women's health, and primary care.
• The Stanford Health Library - Multilingual Health Information: The Stanford Health Library provides translated health and wellness information in a wide range of languages. The translated materials are categorized by topics, including emergency preparedness.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security- 2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: This statistical database provides information on immigrant arrivals by county/region of origin, place of resettlement, and other characteristics.
• U.S. Census Bureau- American Community Survey: This database provides annual estimates on a wide range of population characteristics at national, state, and local levels.