Abstract
An evaluation of Khmer refugee public health services found a strong cultural preference for older females as Community Health Workers (CHWs), in contrast to the young males employed. Class conflicts were identified between educated, upper-class CHWs and the uneducated camp majority. Poor community acceptance of the CHWs impaired their effectiveness, and was attributed to age, sex and socioeconomic barriers. Based on these evaluation findings, the refugee health program was restructured to include a preponderance of female workers. A repeat survey demonstrated enhanced program effectiveness following this change. Selection of refugee health workers should be based on intrinsic community roles, taking age, sex, socioeconomic and other group distinctions into account. Additional research is needed on the adaptation of community health principles to the refugee context.
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