Bosnian refugees in Canada, trauma, resettlement and health in temporal perspective

grantor: University of TorontoIt has been assumed by many investigators of refugee health that refugees experience more pathology and resulting poor health than host populations. However, contradictory findings have emerged from some of these studies. The goal of this study was to put aside initial assumptions pertaining to the health of Bosnian refugees. Rather, health was largely defined by participants through personal perceptions, accounts and descriptions of their experiences pertaining to trauma and resettlement and how these experiences influenced their health over time. A snowball sample of ten Bosnian refugees was selected according to age, gender and period of time spent in Canada. Each participant was visited on three separate occasions over a 9-week period. The methodology was primarily qualitative with informal, indepth interviews. Investigator observations as well as formal, structured health and demographic data were also gathered. This research has shown that the participants in this study faced suffering, adversity, and resettlement challenges that posed risks to their health over time, yet all verbalized and were observed to be experiencing adequate health and function. All participants were independently performing the activities of daily living, working and/or upgrading their skills, caring for themselves and/or their families, establishing new social supports, making realistic plans for the future and using the health care system sparingly. The positive health experienced by participants in this study appeared to be largely due to interactions between personal, psychosocial, and cultural characteristics with life events over time. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)M.Sc