Well Child Care for a Somali Bantu Family
Running Head: WELL CHILD CARE FOR A REFUGEE SOMALI BANTU FAMILY
Well Child Care for a Somali Bantu Family
Community
This project consisted of the Somali Bantu refugees living in the Tennessee Village Community in Nashville, TN. Within this population set, the subset includes families with children aged 12 months and younger.
It is estimated that 8-12,000 Somali Bantu will to arrive in the US in the 2003-2004 year (USDS:IIP, 2003). Of this 8-12,000 refugees, the students of Belmont University were able to interact with approximately 200 of them. Of these 200, about ½ have children under the age of 12 months. This is consistent with the findings of the International Organization for Migration, (IOM) which reports that there is a high birth rate experienced by the Bantu culture, with most married women either lactating or pregnant and that there is little concept of family planning (2003).
Although members of the Somali Bantu culture come to America dealing with health problems like Tuberculosis, infection related to genital mutilation, HIV and syphilis; well baby care presents challenges for this culture as well. In fact, (50%) of newly arrived Somali Bantu children experience preventable injuries related to immunizations, safety, and hygiene which are effected by their cultural practices (Eno et al., 2002). These are issues that need to be addressed in order to provide advancement in the quality of well baby care; care that is provided to the child who is without illness in order to prevent illness or maintain health. Within this first group of problems are those that related to increased risk for communicable diseases:
Lack of immunizations and knowledge deficit of the need for immunizations,
close living spaces,
lack of access to medical care,
a high incidence of Low Birth Weight infants,
poor nutritional status related to maternal nutritional status,
High Crude Birth Rates creating oversized families, and
Poor infant
Well Child Care for a Somali Bantu Family
Community
This project consisted of the Somali Bantu refugees living in the Tennessee Village Community in Nashville, TN. Within this population set, the subset includes families with children aged 12 months and younger.
It is estimated that 8-12,000 Somali Bantu will to arrive in the US in the 2003-2004 year (USDS:IIP, 2003). Of this 8-12,000 refugees, the students of Belmont University were able to interact with approximately 200 of them. Of these 200, about ½ have children under the age of 12 months. This is consistent with the findings of the International Organization for Migration, (IOM) which reports that there is a high birth rate experienced by the Bantu culture, with most married women either lactating or pregnant and that there is little concept of family planning (2003).
Although members of the Somali Bantu culture come to America dealing with health problems like Tuberculosis, infection related to genital mutilation, HIV and syphilis; well baby care presents challenges for this culture as well. In fact, (50%) of newly arrived Somali Bantu children experience preventable injuries related to immunizations, safety, and hygiene which are effected by their cultural practices (Eno et al., 2002). These are issues that need to be addressed in order to provide advancement in the quality of well baby care; care that is provided to the child who is without illness in order to prevent illness or maintain health. Within this first group of problems are those that related to increased risk for communicable diseases:
Lack of immunizations and knowledge deficit of the need for immunizations,
close living spaces,
lack of access to medical care,
a high incidence of Low Birth Weight infants,
poor nutritional status related to maternal nutritional status,
High Crude Birth Rates creating oversized families, and
Poor infant
References: Anonymous (Personal Communication, November 2, 2004) Australian Government: Department of Health and Aging intelligence publications: Risk factors. Retrieved on November 22, 2004 from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/Publishing.nsf/Content/cda-pubs-cdipubs.htm Ball, J.W. & Bindler, R.C. (2003). Pediatric nursing: Caring for children. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River Burgess, A. (2004). Health challenges for refugees and immigrants. Refugee Reports: A News Service of Immigration and Refugee Services of America, 25(2), 14-16. Catholic Charities of Tennessee. (2004). Refugee and immigration services. Retrieved on November 10, 2004 from http://cctenn.org/refugeeimmigration.htm November 22, 2004 from http://www.theirc.org/Kenya/index.cfm Oxfam New Zeland camps in Chad. Retrieved on November 22, 2004 from http://www.oxfam.org.nz/Sudan/Sudan%20September%2022,%202004.htm. University of Washington: Harborview Medical Center. (2004). Somali bantu refugees. Retrieved on October 29, 2004 from United States Department of State: International Information Programs. (2003). Fact sheet: February 7, 2003