FOCUS
Refugees experience more health problems than people in the general U.S. population. Research to date has focused mainly on individual, familial, and cultural factors in accounting for these disparities. Extending this line of research, Muna draws on life course theory to understand how these factors interact with resettlement policies and related structural factors to impact refugee health outcomes. Specifically, she examines how policies that affect refugee population dispersal, social welfare support, employment, and access to high-quality care systems affect refugee well-being. She is also interested in researching how such policies may further marginalize refugee groups in healthcare systems and their wider communities. By identifying structural factors and policy processes that impact observed disparities in refugee health outcomes, Muna hopes to inform a more socially just response to refugee resettlement in the U.S.
MORE ABOUT MUNA
Most research on refugee health focuses on individual-level characteristics. Muna’s experiences as a refugee have made her aware of how these characteristics interact with systems to create and sustain health inequities. She plans to use community-based participatory research methods to explore how policies and communities affect refugee well-being.
