Keynote Address Focus on Cultural Sensitivity with Refugee Patients Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, MD, MSc, FACOG, was a keynote speaker in June for the 2014 North American Refugee Healthcare Conference (NARHC) in Rochester, New York. Emphasizing SIRCs mission with vulnerable populations, Dr. Johnson-Agbakwus keynote address encompassed Challenges and Opportunities: Improving Quality of Care for Refugee Women. As an Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Maricopa Integrated Health System in Phoenix, Arizona, she is well aware of the cultural and communication dilemmas health care providers encounter when working with refugee patients. As Founder and Director of the Refugee Womens Health Clinic (RWHC), Dr. Johnson-Agbakwu addresses the challenges refugee women face when seeking medical attention. Some of these challenges include navigating the process of acculturation in their new country, loss of roots to their identity, attempting to recover from violent trauma experienced in their country of origin, illiteracy in addition to lack of English fluency. Dr. Johnson-Agbakwus keynote address educated health care providers on cultural sensitivity issues with the aim to help refugee patients trust their providers with their healthcare needs. Her passion and leadership has poised the RWHC to be the leading healthcare entity addressing refugee womens health nationally and defining best practices for quality care in the same arena. Dr. Johnson-Agbakwu is an esteemed Research Assistant Professor and Clinical Research Affiliate with SIRC where her expertise is focused on reproductive health disparities among refugee and immigrant women through mixed-methods Community-Based Participatory Research. Listen to the interview below. wxxinews.org/post/connections-healthy-friday-refugee-health-issues
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:49:21 +0000