Needs assessment of Mental Health Services among Cuban refugees resettled in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. An exploratory study Necesidades de uso de los Servicios de Salud Mental

A journey is usually defined as an act of traveling from one place to another; an odyssey is described as an eventful journey. American society has found the odyssey undertaken by refugees and immigrants landing on its shores to be a pressing issue. The following paper intends to explore the need for mental health services among Cuban refugees reset-tled in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. During our data collection, we gathered information regarding their levels of stress. We tracked indices of post-traumatic stress disorder based on their experiences during migration, their perception of nee-ded mental health services, and their perception of barriers to access mental health services. Based on this data, social identity theory, and case studies, we made an exploratory approach of current mental health needs among Cuban re-fugees. Key words: refugee, mental health needs, perception of barriers. Resumen ampliado Una expedición se define generalmente como un acto de viajar de un lugar a otro, una odisea, un viaje repleto de acon-tecimientos. La sociedad estadounidense percibe que la odisea llevada a cabo por los refugiados e inmigrantes que ate-rrizan en sus costas es un problema creciente. Por su parte, las personas en busca de refugio también tienen problemas, deben renunciar a un ambiente que les es familiar y afrontar la adaptación a uno nuevo. El proceso de transición y re