The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #67538

Sergut Wolde-yohannes, MPH, EdM, Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center, 801B Tremont Street, Bpston, MA 02118, (617) 784-8406, swoldeyohannes@aol.com, Nawal Nour, MD, MPH, Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, Kate H. Hayward, BA, Immigration and Refugee Services of America, 1717 Massachusetts Ave, NW, suite 701, Washington, DC 20036, and Raqiya Abdalla, MSc, Somali Family Care Network, 4547 Maxfield Drive, Annandale, VA 22003.

Due to large number of refugee women with diverse cultural and language backgrounds in the US, there is a need for culturally and linguistically competent health programs to care for these women. In response to health needs of East African refugee women who have undergone female genital cutting (FGC), the African Women's Health Center (AWHC) at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), has delivered two-day reproductive health workshops in 10 US cities.

To assess the effectiveness of the workshops in delivering health information to refugee women, AWHC carried a two-fold evaluation. In the first part the evaluators looked at design of training model, how training participants perceived the training and factors that facilitated implementation. The second part of the evaluation examined effectiveness of AWHC training workshops on transmitting health information to target audiences.

This presentation will primarily focus on data collected in focus groups and surveys administered immediately before and one year after reproductive health workshops. Data will be presented on changes in refugee women awareness of reproductive health issues, ease of accessing and utilizing health care and attitudes towards female genital cutting made as a result of health informatin obtained.

Learning Objectives:

• understand the critical issues in developing health workshops for women with FGC
• become aware of the changes that such a training workshop can effect among participants
• be able to develop similar workshops in their own setting for culturally and linguistically diverse women

Keywords: Health Education Strategies, Refugees

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Office of Minority Health, grants