Injury Prevention Considerations for Youth Resettling in the United States

Sofia Chaudhary, MD, FAAP
Brittany Lee Murray, MD, MPhil
David Greenky, MD
Esther Kim, MD
Amy Zeidan, MD
Lin Snowe, CPST-I

Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for children and teens in the United States. The risk of injury is even higher for youth that have resettled in the United States as these youth face unique structural vulnerabilities and may experience pre-migration, migration, and post-migration trauma. Prior research has found a 20% higher rate of unintentional injuries among refugees compared with non-refugees. Further, most injury prevention resources do not account for cultural and linguistic difference or preferences, which may lead to increased injuries among this population. There are a variety of reasons why families resettle in the United States whether it be a natural disaster, famine, war, or seeking asylum and as the number of displaced populations continues to rise, pediatric clinicians and injury prevention experts will continue to treat increasing numbers of immigrant families. In caring for resettled children, it is important that we explore cultural and linguistic preferences when developing injury prevention strategies, as traditional methods of injury prevention may be inaccessible or not as effective.

This interactive, case-based workshop will include speakers that have worked directly with pediatric immigrant populations and have content expertise in injury prevention strategies. These experts will share their recommendations for engaging in trauma-informed and culturally appropriate injury prevention education for families and their communities. In this session, attendees will learn about 1) the different types of pathways or statuses (e.g. asylum seekers, refugees, undocumented immigrants) and how this impacts access to medical care 2) some of the most common and unique injury risks for immigrant youth populations (e.g. pedestrian, carbon monoxide, transportation, burns, falls, occupational injury/child labor) 3) best practices for tailored injury prevention strategies that incorporate trauma informed practices and avoid re-traumatization (accounting for pre-migration, migration and/or post-migration trauma that can lead to anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder) and 4) strategies for fostering community engaged partnerships to develop and provide population-based, culturally informed injury prevention anticipatory guidance and interventions. It is critical that we engage newly resettled families by partnering with pre-existing resettlement, post-resettlement agencies, and community-based injury prevention organizations. This early engagement can help build trusting partnerships and allow existing injury prevention organizations to serve as a resource while families navigate a high-risk period for injury.

1. Define pediatric communities at high risk for injuries that have settled in the United States including asylum seeker, refugee, undocumented.
2. Identify increased injury risks that these resettlement pediatric populations may have compared to local pediatric populations.
3. Explore the role of medical evaluation in healthcare setting with trauma informed approaches for this population.
4. Provide recommendations for conducting injury prevention education, initiatives, and research while being mindful of cultural values and linguistic needs.
5. Understand how to collaborate with existing agencies and community organizations as a platform for providing injury prevention education.