Health and Well-Being of Immigrant Children and Youth

Abstract

Department of Social, Cultural and Media Studies, University of the Fraser Valley, 33844 King Road, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 7M8, CanadaReceived 15 July 2012; Accepted 15 July 2012This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This special issue includes a wide spectrum of research papers: using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods; from a variety of countries (Australia, Canada, and the United States of America); examining a diverse array of immigrant children and their families. While some of the research follows a more traditional academic research approach, others are the product of program analyses. One thing, however, that all of the papers have in common is that they all focus on a marginalized immigrant group. This special issue is not only interesting, but it is encouraging to see scholars from around the world centre their attention on the health of marginalized children.It has been a delight to edit this special issue. I thank my coeditors Dr. A. George and Dr. U. Tran for their efforts. We would like to thank the many researchers that sent in manuscripts to be included in this issue. The health and well-being of immigrant children is an important issue that needs our attention and dedication. While funding for such research tends to be limited, especially in the current global economic climate, I would encourage readers from all countries to continue on in their efforts to showcase the health disparities and related inequalities that immigrant children and their families endure. By doing this we can highlight the existing inequalities to policy makers and governments and collectively make a difference in the well-being of future generations.Dr. U. Tran (MD) is a developmental paediatrician and researcher in Queensland, Australia. Her paper showcases the results of a pilot study that compared perceived parenting roles, child development, health service utilization, as well as child health, illness, and disability among Vietnamese immigrants in Australia versus Australian-born Caucasians. Her research makes a valuable contribution to what is known about Vietnamese immigrants' perceptions of health and health care practices, particularly in the Australian context since scant research can be found on the topic. Dr. U. Tran concludes that key differences between Vietnamese immigrant and Australian-born Caucasian parents were detected and that the immigrant parents were not only less familiar with health services that were available for their children, but they were also less satisfied with the mainstream services that they had utilized. These findings suggest that a better understanding of the health care needs of specific (i.e., immigrant) populations is warranted.Dr. T. Tuma (PhD) is a researcher at the Hasbro Children's Hospital Refuge Health Clinic in Rhode Island, USA. Together with her colleagues, Ms. L. Ratanaprasatporn, Dr. D. J. Watts (MD), and Dr. C. Lewis (MD), this team of researchers present their evaluation of the refugee home--the Hasbro Children's Hospital's Refugee Health Clinic that was established in 2007 to serve the health needs of refugee families in the Rhode Island area. Their evaluation illustrates truly amazing results; the medical home model has increased screening rates to 100% and increased completion of TB treatment to 100%. In addition, missed appointments dramatically declined (compared to the former nonfamily centred care). This refugee healthcare model is one that policy makers, health funders, and health authorities should take note of and consider implementing elsewhere. …