Caring for the Displaced and Uninsured (PDF)

CARING FOR THE DISPLACED AND UNINSURED

An essential text to understanding key aspects of caring for uninsured people from underserved populations

Caring for the Displaced and Uninsured presents clinical case studies that focus on the issues faced primarily by patients who are uninsured, self-paying, or are visiting from their home countries. While addressing the clinical aspects of primary care for a variety of conditions, these case studies go a step further to confront the issues faced by patients who seek care in clinics for the uninsured. Each case highlights the challenges presented by cultural, language and economic differences to providing high quality care, in particular for those whose jobs negatively affect their health, such as through musculoskeletal pain, neurological problems, prolonged standing, depression, or anxiety about feeding and housing their families.

The cases explore how the healthcare provider approaches care with insufficient resources for patients who may have fled torture and violence, poverty and homelessness to face new challenges in the United States. The healthcare provider plays a key role in the adjustment of people seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

Caring for the Displaced and Uninsured addresses:

* Issues related to family, medication, food, housing, finances, work, trauma, mental health, specialty access, delayed screening, visitors, and immigration

* How to think in broader terms when treating immigrant or uninsured patients

* The nuances of treating patients who have lived outside of their home country, apart from their families, for many years

* Tips for providing quality healthcare within the parameters that currently exist in the healthcare system

This text provides valuable insight and perspective for nursing and healthcare students, particularly those taking community health classes and classes that focus on uninsured and underserved populations.