How Should health care professionals address social determinants of refugee health?

Abstract

In the case scenario, RJ is a resettled refugee teenager who presents to his physician with vitamin B12 deficiency, anemia, and symptoms of mental illness. This commentary considers social determinants of refugee health and the moral importance of freedom to achieve well-being. The capabilities framework is used to analyze this case because it offers an ethical framework for understanding and evaluating social determinants of refugee health that either promote or diminish freedom to achieve well-being. By using this framework to consider social isolation as a negative social determinant of refugee health, clinicians and institutions can be caregivers as well as advocates for social justice, fulfilling 2 core ethical obligations to refugee communities.