Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42534445›Full record

ArticleHealth equity

Reimagining Reproductive Health Care for Refugee Women: Integrating Cultural Health Navigators into a Clinical Model.

Ehiremen Azugbene, Kathryn Claypool, Zoë Baker, Lara Johnstun, Cady Berkel, Tobin Bader, Michelle Villegas-Gold, Santosh Sapkota, Lora Nordstrom, Dean Coonrod and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health equity. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Ehiremen AzugbeneCollege of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Kathryn ClaypoolResearch Technology Office, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
Zoë BakerOffice of the Vice President of Research, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4929-1964
Lara JohnstunIT Clinical Application Services, Valleywise Health, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Cady BerkelCollege of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Tobin BaderResearch Technology Office, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
Michelle Villegas-GoldASU Health, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
Santosh SapkotaIT Clinical Application Services, Valleywise Health, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Lora NordstromValleywise Health, Clinical Research, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Dean CoonrodValleywise Health, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Jeanne NizigiyimanaValleywise Health, Center for Refugee and Global Health, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Crista Johnson-AgbakwuUMass Chan Medical School, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Refugee women face barriers to reproductive health care, including limited English proficiency, transportation challenges, inconsistent insurance coverage, socioeconomic instability, and prevalence of trauma-related mental health conditions. This study describes the characteristics, diagnoses, and health care utilization of refugee women receiving care at the Refugee Women's Health Clinic (RWHC) of Valleywise Health (VH), a safety net health care system in the southwestern United States. Further, it examines the role of an integrated cultural health navigator (CHN) program in addressing access and care barriers for refugee women. Study objectives were to characterize demographics, health diagnoses, reproductive health care utilization, and the scope of CHN service delivery. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic medical record data from 21,062 refugee-identified patients seen at VH from 2009 to 2024, with a focused descriptive analysis of 7,504 women who received care at the RWHC. Analyses of CHN service delivery were conducted among a subset of 1,581 patients with available CHN flowsheet documentation. Results: Patients originated from >100 countries, demonstrating extensive racial, linguistic, and religious diversity. Among RWHC patients, 48.1% experienced at least one pregnancy; 93.2% received prenatal care, and 55.3% initiated care in the first trimester. Mental health diagnoses were common, including anxiety (10.0%) and depression (9.8%). Preventive services were widely utilized, including sexually transmitted infection screening (43.1%) and contraceptive counseling (32.2%). CHNs supported approximately 5,000 patient encounters annually, with services focused on appointment adherence, enhanced interpretation and transportation access, and linkage to behavioral health and supportive services. Conclusions: The RWHC and its integrated CHN program represent a community-based, equity-focused model of reproductive health care delivery for refugee women in a safety-net setting. Embedding CHN programs within clinical settings may mitigate socioeconomic, linguistic, and mental health-related care barriers by strengthening care coordination and access. This model offers a framework for advancing reproductive health equity among resettled refugee women.

Indexed as

community health workershealth equityperinatal carerefugee healthreproductive health servicestrauma-informed care

Identifiers

PMID42534445
PMCPMC13420392

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.