North Carolina and the Piedmont Triad region have a history of successful refugee resettlement dating back to the early 1980s, making it a natural laboratory for examining the health and integration of ethnically and linguistically diverse newcomer communities.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed deep-seated inequities in health care for communities of color and amplified social and economic factors that contribute to poor health outcomes.
Minority, refugee, and immigrant populations have experienced a lack of communication, information, resources, and support.
Dr. Sharon Morrison, professor in the Dept. of Public Health Education, has been working with these populations for over 15 years, and when the pandemic hit, she swiftly changed her coursework and research so she and her students could focus on outreach for African American, Bhutanese, Montagnard, and African immigrant and refugee communities.
“We in higher education have the tools and resources to give back, and we have a duty to leverage those resources for our broader community,”
Dr. Sharon Morrison