Resettlement of refugees from Africa and Iraq in Rhode Island: the impact of violence and burden of disease.

The Office of Minority Health at the Rhode Island Department of Health formally initiated the Refugee Health Program (RHP) in August 2004. The goal is to ensure that refugees and asylees enter into a comprehensive system of care that responds to their unique health care needs by addressing three main components: coordination of care, education and training, and surveillance and epidemiology. Refugees are provided only eight months of insurance via Medicaid. No medical coverage is provided after they attain legal status, which takes approximately one year after their arrival in the United States. Timely medical care is an integral part of the refugee resettlement process. This discussion compares the burden of disease between recently resettled Africans and Iraqi refugees in Rhode Island.