Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

New Americans Accessing Mental Health Services, Alexander M. Kubacki

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Approach To Providing Culturally Sensitive Gynecologic And Obstetric Care For Somali Women, Izabella Ostrowski

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many refugees have fled Somalia over the past 30 years due to political instability and civil war. Since 1980, over 8,000 refugees have settled in Vermont, with about 9% of refugees being from Somalia. Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB) provides prenatal and primary care to many Somali women in the community. There are known gynecologic and obstetric health disparities for Somali women, such as significantly lower completion rates of mammography and pap smears than non-Somali patients. Research has shown that an understanding of cultural health beliefs and values are crucial for creating tailored prevention programs for refugee women. This …

Yosuf, Yosuf, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Yosef and his family of four are from the Herat Province in Afghanistan. The eldest child used to sell potatoes with Ibrahim, the middle child, who was killed by a landmine planted by counter-revolutionaries. As a result, the eldest child, Ismail, developed severe nerve and mental issues, and the wife, who is now pregnant, frequently has seizures. They sold their home to treat Ismail, but doctors say nothing can be done. Ismail’s condition continues to worsen, but he refuses to leave to see a doctor because he is afraid of the police for an unknown reason. Yosef says he is …

Shurooq, Shurooq, Brandi Kilmer, Sherianne Schow, Nicole Taylor, Sasha Sloan

TSOS Interview Gallery

Shurooq fled Iraq and came to the United States when she was 12. Iraq was a beautiful place full of family and celebration. Her brother passed away from leukemia 1 1/2 years prior to coming to the States. Prior to his death, their father took him to Syria to for treatment. He passed in Syria. Although the family had applied for a medical visa to the United States, upon Shurooq’s brother’s passing, they received threats and knew they could not stay. The call came for the visa and all but her mother were able to come. Thankfully her mother arrived …

Assessment And Awareness Of Mental Health Conditions Among Refugees In Vermont, Sandi Caus

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Refugees experience profound hardship in their home-country, displaced country and throughout the period of re-settlement. Experiences like direct or indirect exposure to traumatic events, torture, sexual abuse and stigmatized refugee identity post-resttlement are major risk factors for the development of mental health coniditions inlcuding PTSD, depression and psychosis. Despite major risk factors for the development of mental health conditions, culturally-specific mental health stigma persists as a major barrier to addressing mental health among refugees. This project emphasizes techniques and self-education that can be utilized to improve mentah health screening and identification among refugee patients in Vermont.

2020 Children's Story Cards, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Arif: "I like being in school again."

Norina: "We laugh a lot but I also worry."

Nooda: "I came on a boat. It was a big boat!"

Madina: "I just want to live in a safe place..."

Shurangez: "Sometimes we didn't feel safe at school."

Alex: "I'm from Nigeria. Coming to Italy was very difficult-very, very difficult, a real struggle."

Danial: "I want to be a useful person and follow my dreams."

Firoz: "I am 13 years old and I am worried about my family."

Ali: "Ali lived in Afghanistan. One day while walking to school a bomb exploded near …

Rawah, Rawah, Brandi Kilmer

TSOS Interview Gallery

No abstract provided.

Pap Smears In The Somali Immigrant Population, Garrett Chan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Lewiston, Maine is home to a population of Somali refugees. Women within this community have faced cultural and language barriers that have prevented them from obtaining Pap smears. We have collaborated with a local health clinic, where a cultural broker and member of the Somali community who is familiar with this population, to understand challenges Somali immigrant women face in cervical cancer screening. Together, we developed a pamphlet and health resource card, both in Somali, to lower barriers to care.

Rafi & Patra, Rafi, Patra, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Rafi and his family have been stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia for almost four months. They made their way from Afghanistan, received certificates in Greece to help them on their journey, but were then stopped at the border of Macedonia. The Macedonians said that they were no longer allowing Afghans into their country. Now all they can do is wait and hope. In Afghanistan,Rafi was a military man. As a young man, he was a part of the Revolution army, but later was made a soldier for the Government Security of Kabul. During that time, he was …

Asma, Asma, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Asma is a teenager who fled from Myanmar after the army killed her uncle and her village was destroyed. She is now living in Cox’s Bazaar, married, pregnant, and trying to cope in a world where violence and rape are all too common.

Journey To Refuge: Understanding Refugees, Exploring Trauma, And Best Practices For Newcomers And Schools, Trina D. Harlow

NPP eBooks

Pre-K through 12th grade schools within the United States have become much more diverse in recent years. Schools are now commonly not only diverse because of diverse students born in the United States, but also have many immigrant students. A growing number of these immigrant students are resettled children who have refugee status. In schools, these recent immigrants are called newcomers. This book is a culmination of research and anecdotal experiences regarding the refugee issue as it pertains to these students in American schools and schools elsewhere in the world. Scholars, policy makers, educators, those who work in the refugee …

Rita, Rita, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Rita Alkhaledy grew up in Sadr City, a poor suburb of Baghdad. Her father is an Iraqi Arab and her mother was Kurdish Iranian. Her mother lived in fear that she would be cast out of Baghdad as being an outsider in Iraq was frowned upon. Her father served in the Iraqi army in the 80s and was gone a great deal, leading to a strained relationship. Their relationship was mended when her mother died from cancer.

After the Iraq war, Rita and her brothers realized that their lives were in danger. They had to move from house to house …

Jeanusnat, Jeanusnat, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Jeanusnat’s father, who was chief of a Nigerian community, was murdered by an enemy community. The murderer intended to kill Jeanusnat and his mother as well, but they fled to neighboring Niger. There, Jeanusnat parted ways with his mother, who stayed at the church with a family, and Jeanusnat crossed into Libya in the back of a truck. But once in Libya, danger persisted. He was confronted by some robbers who stabbed him with a knife and beat him, leaving injuries on his legs and shoulder. In Tripoli, a man offered him temporary refuge, where Jeanusnat stayed until he decided …

Ali, Ali, Twila Bird

TSOS Interview Gallery

At eighteen fate placed Ali and his family in the center of hostilities in northern Afghanistan. Warring militant factions killed hundreds of people in his village. Ali helped identify and bury dozens of his friends and neighbors in a mass grave.

We spent days and nights in the mountains and blocked on the borders. I crossed the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan walking with my handicap. Then it took us another sixteen hours to cross the border between Pakistan and Iran, also in very high mountains of more than 2500 meters. The Iranian police were killing people on the …

Nicole Ludwig, Tsos, Nicole Ludwig

TSOS Interview Gallery

In September 2016, Nicole Ludwig led a group of her neighbors in Germany to assist newly-arrived Syrian and Afghani refugees. The volunteers collected clothing and toys, organized activities and field trips for the refugee children, and taught them German. Later, the volunteers offered homework support and led library reading groups. For the adult refugees, the volunteers provided cultural assimilation instruction and cooking classes. While there were occasional challenges to working together, the volunteers and refugees fostered a collaborative system and even hosted a Christmas party, during which one elderly Syrian man said, “This is one of the best memories I …

Katja, Ketevahi 'Katje', Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ketevahi “Katja” is from Georgia. She’s in her late 40’s. She grew up on a farm in the country and became the financial support for her family after her mother died and her father became “emaciated.” When Putin came to power, diplomatic ties deteriorated between Georgia and Russia, which eventually led to war. She fled her country using forged documents and first worked in Turkey but has now lived in Naples for nine years and regularly sends money home to her brother, who cares for their father.

Katja expresses her feelings about war, government, liberty, and what it means to …

Unite App: Connecting Refugees And Locals, Aubrey Coughlin (Interior Design), Anna Loimusalo (Information And Service Management), Anthony Difranco (Industrial Design), Bennett Purdy (Textile), Mismilad Alhashim (Pre-Med), Winston Folkes (Occupational Therapy)

Nexus Maximus

Unite is a social media platform which connects refugees with local organizations and anyone who wants to lend a hand, when they arrive in a new country. To make our concept more specific, we focused on the city of Berlin, the organizations which exist there and the people who are migrating there.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee …

Solar Stove, Julia Strange (Interior Design), Alaina Mcihenney (Physicians Assistant), Zachary Quain (Industrial Design), Adam Beauchner (Industrial Design), Irene Ghattas (Occupational Therapy)

Nexus Maximus

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD WINNER!

We designed a solar powered hot plate that also functions as a light source. This allows refugees to cook food without burning wood or using toxic fuels and provides a portable light source.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee their homes. That’s 34,000 people a day who leave everything behind in the hope of …

Refugee.Jobs, Laura Dunne (Pa Studies), Jonathan Looi (Computer Science), Jose Tomas Marchant (Industrial Design), Devin Morrison (Industrial Design)

Nexus Maximus

Refugee.jobs connects prospective refugee workers with both American employers and English language education resources. Employers who participate in Refugee.jobs are educated about the benefits of hiring refugees and are provided with answers to their concerns by Refugee.jobs liasons. Key players in the success of Refugee.jobs are local refugee resettlement agencies and cultural communities.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to …

Combating The Problem Of Smuggling Via Legal Refugee Transport Agencies, Mitchell Maurer (Engineering), Ala Saleh, Alex Marino, Adam Hoover, Imani Pajibo, Gabriel De Toro Cruzat

Nexus Maximus

Our final project is the idea of an organization that works to legally transport refugees into the EU where they can safely become members of the local economy. Legal and social loopholes prevent refugees from entering easily, while refugees are actually seen to aid in temporary working economies.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee their homes. That’s 34,000 …

Refyougee, Joshua Ferguson (Industrial Design), Valmar Wilson, Nicholas Austin, Kaitlin Johnson (Interior Design), Alvari Poikola, Ignacio, Sebastian Eduardo Guajardo

Nexus Maximus

We created a temporary replica of a refugee camp, with the intent of creating empathy for refugees among the citizens of western countries.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee their homes. That’s 34,000 people a day who leave everything behind in the hope of finding safety and a better tomorrow. The impact of war, political, racial and religious …

Half Full: A Personal Water Collection System, Matthew Cuccurese (Industrial Design), Andres Valbuena, Pooja Joshi (Occupational Therapy), Sophia Warne Rowe (Interior Design), Samantha Ringer (Interior Design)

Nexus Maximus

Our project focuses on the issue of water within refugee camps. We have proposed a system that can allow for individuals to be able to have their own source of drinking water with a device that can condensate water from the air, even in an aired region. This would allow them to use less water from the community's supply overall, and allow more water to be able to be rationed for uses like washing and cleaning than is currently rationed per person.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our …

Space Data Industries, Abram Gibson (Pre-Med), Bruno Jacobsen, Axel Juslin, Philip Smith (Biology)

Nexus Maximus

Winner of the most entrepreneurial award for its concept of helping government institutions predict, understand and prepare for refugee migration flows through data insights.

A poster that explains a hypothetical company that helps proactively assist governments and refugees during the migration process. The company is based off of data from the groundbreaking nano-satellites being produced at Aalto University.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around …

The Trade Exchange, Emily Monath (Industrial Design), Caroline Whittemore (Occupational Therapy), Wa’Ed Ibrahim (International Design Business Management), Michael Taffe (Finance), Bridget Sax (Interior Design)

Nexus Maximus

The Trade Exchange program changes the meaning of "refugee" from burden to asset. This job placement organization reduces depression and other mental health factors by capitalizing on refugees skills by placing them in countries with labor shortages.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee their homes. That’s 34,000 people a day who leave everything behind in the hope of …

Amicus: Communication Across Languages, Brian Cipperly (Industrial Design), Rosario Herrera (Graphic Design), Mike Savarie (Sustainable Design)

Nexus Maximus

MOST INNOVATIVE SOLUTION AWARD

Our project is designed to serve as a means for speakers of different languages to communicate using pictorial icons, particularly to serve basic needs such as food and water. At a refugee camp or other first point of contact, a volunteer or aid worker can be wearing a t-shirt, giving away blankets, or using flash cards with the symbols printed on them and the refugee can communicate their needs.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, …

Domestic Health Assessment For Syrian Refugees In Rutland, Vt, Ian Grant

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The Vermont Dept. of Health/Agency of Human Services “Refugee Domestic Health Assessment Form” was reviewed, edited, and reformatted to improve provider work-flow, ensure accuracy, and ease the process of data collection. This form was redesigned specifically to be used by providers in Rutland, VT when assessing the health of newly-arrived Syrian refugees.

Media Screen Time For Young Children, A Culturally Competent Approach, Jenna Conway Jorgensen

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Young children are being exposed to excessive screen time. There are many health and developmental risks of excessive or inappropriate media exposure, including sleep disturbances, developmental delays, and obesity. New American families are likely unaware of the consequences of too much screen time in young children.

Pamir And Rahila, Pamir, Rahila, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Pamir is from Afghanistan. He is a Hazarah, an ethnic minority group in Afghanistan. The Taliban hates his people. Nearly every member of his family has bullet wounds and war scars. His father was shot during the Mujahedin War and still has bullets in his leg. His older brother is blind in one eye and is still in Iran. His other brother was shot in the head and killed somewhere between the age of thirteen and fifteen. They escaped to Iran from Afghanistan, but the police caught Pamir and took him to a camp. They told him he could either …

Ilhan & Family, Ilhan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ilhan, his wife Nura, and their children resided near Kabul, in a region where both the Taliban and ISIS were active. As Shias, Ilhan’s family faced numerous menaces, including threatsfrom ISIS that they would be beheaded if they did not display ISIS flags. Ilhan’s sister Radwa, who is deaf and mute, was forced to marry a regional leader. In addition to being threatened on religious grounds, Ilhan’s family was also threatened by anelder of their town. Out of desperation, Ilhan’s family sold their house appliances, escaped Afghanistan, and arrived at the Oinofyta refugee campin Greece. Ilhan’s family fled with Radwa, …

Kamaria Bakes, Kamaria, Twila Bird, Lindsay Silsby, Yasmine Kataw, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Amina is from Aleppo, where she was a math teacher. She is married with four boys. Her family fled to Turkey from Syria after losing their home in the war. Amina and her youngest son then sailed on an inflatable boat to Greece. Using cars, buses, and trains, they traveled from Greece to Macedonia, then on through Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria before finally arriving in Germany. They stayed for two months in Camp Hamburg before being transferred for a short time to Lemberg. Lemberg was followed by another camp for three and a half months and then to Eisenberg …