Chronic Pain within the Refugee Population: Evaluation and Treatment

Abstract

Refugees are best served when their needs are addressed from the “bottom up”, that is, safety and security, a place to live, a means of support, a relationship of trust and empathic understanding, language and vocational training, family engagement, and health education which incorporates cultural competence and reassurance. Providers must reach out either by personally becoming aware of cultural issues or by utilizing a “culture broker.” The key tool to a seamless management of the health of refugees, including pain management, requires comprehensive case management, which embodies the “bottom-up approach.” Too often, these services are not available, and refugees subsequently suffer at the bottom of the social ladder, receiving neither the integrative services required nor the health care that is necessary for their transition to productivity.