Prevalence of selected preventable and treatable diseases among government-assisted refugees: Implications for primary care providers.
OBJECTIVE
To discover the prevalence of 4 preventable and treatable diseases among newly arriving refugees.


METHODS
Retrospective cohort study.


METHODS
An immigrant-friendly family medicine centre in Ottawa, Ont, that offers newly arriving refugees a clinical preventive program following a specially designed protocol.


METHODS
A total of 112 adult government-assisted refugees seen during 2004 and 2005 within 6 months of arrival.


METHODS
Demographic information and prevalence of HIV infection, latent tuberculosis (TB), chronic hepatitis B surface antigen-positive status, and intestinal parasites.


RESULTS
Descriptive analysis revealed that 71% of the adults were younger than 35 years and 83% of them had come from sub-Saharan Africa. Disease prevalence rates were 6.3% for HIV (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8 to 10.8), 49.5% for latent TB (95% CI 39.5 to 49.8), 5.4% for chronic hepatitis B surface antigen-positive status (95% CI 1.2 to 9.5), and 13.6% for intestinal parasites (95% CI 7.2 to 20.0). Most refugees (83%) successfully completed the preventive care program. Performing chi(2) analysis revealed a statistically significant higher risk of latent TB among the men (P < .032). Most of the women had never had a Papanicolaou test.


CONCLUSIONS
Refugees are a vulnerable population with unique, but often preventable or treatable, health issues. This study demonstrated substantial differences in the prevalence of HIV, TB, chronic hepatitis B, and intestinal parasites between government-assisted refugees and Canadian residents. These health disparities and the emerging field of health settlement are new challenges for family physicians and other primary health care providers.
Pottie
Kevin
K
University of Ottawa, 75 Bruyère St, Ottawa, ON. kpottie@uottawa.ca
Janakiram
Praseedha
P
Topp
Patricia
P
McCarthy
Anne
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D017677:Age Distribution; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006078:Government Programs; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods; D011322:Primary Prevention; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data