Background
There are over 185 million persons worldwide who live outside their countries of birth. In the USA, immigrants number 33 million or 11.5% of the total population. This level of immigration is unprecedented; even at the highest peak of immigration in the early twentieth century, the number of immigrants was only 40% of what it is today. International migration has also had a major impact on other developed countries. While the USA has the largest number of immigrants, as a percentage of the total population, Australia has the highest foreign-born population, followed by Canada, Sweden, USA, the Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, and Russian Federation. Thus, caring for immigrants has become a near-universal experience for health care professionals in developed countries around the world. To competently and compassionately care for foreign-born individuals, physicians and other health care providers need to develop and apply a specific set of skills. This entry provides an...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Readings
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Community Health Services. (2005). Providing care for immigrant, homeless, and migrant children. Pediatrics, 115, 1095–1100.
Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Park, E. R. (2005). Cultural competence and health care disparities: Key perspectives and trends. Health Affairs, 24, 499–505.
Carr, D. D. (2006). Implications for case management ensuring access and delivery of quality health care to undocumented immigrant populations. Lippincott’s Case Management, 11, 195–204.
Eckstein, B. (2011). Primary care for refugees. American Family Physician, 83(4), 429–436.
Galanti, G. A. (2004). Caring for patients from different cultures (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Kemp, C., & Rasbridge, L. (2004). Refugee and immigrant health. A handbook for health professionals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pumariega, A. J., Rothe, E., & Pumariega, J. A. B. (2005). Mental health of immigrants and refugees. Community Mental Health Journal, 41, 581–597.
Walker, P. F., & Barnett, E. D. (Eds.). (2007). Immigrant medicine. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
Wilson, J. P., & Drozdek, B. (Eds.). (2004). Broken spirits. The treatment of traumatized asylum seekers, refugees, war and torture victims. Hove: Brunner-Routledge.
Suggested Resources
Camarota, S. A. (2002). Immigrants in the U.S. 2002, Center for Immigration Studies. http://www.cis.org/articles/2002/back1302.html
Gavagan, T., & Bodyaga, L. (1998). Medical care for immigrants and refugees. American Family Physician, 57, 1061–1068. http://www.aafp.org/afp/980301ap/gavagan.html
United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. (2001). National standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services in health care. Final report, Washington, DC. http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/assets/pdf/checked/finalreport.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hauck, F.R. (2012). Health Care. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_594
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_594
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5655-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5659-0
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine