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Show An Assessment of the Health Background, Status, and Care Utilization of the Sudanese Youth "Lost Boys" Population in Salt Lake City Ryan Thompson, BA & Marc Babitz, M.D. This is a descriptive study that characterizes the health status of a group of 130 Sudanese refugees, referred to informally as the "Lost Boys, " who have recently been resettled in Salt Lake City. They bring with them a traumatic past filled with war, tragedy, and starvation-and relatively little health care. In order to provide competent care to this and other refugee populations, it is relevant for Utah 's health care providers to increase their awareness of and sensitivity towards such populations, their health background, and health needs. This study is an attempt to enhance such awareness and sensitivity. An increasing challenge presented to Utah's health care providers is caring for the rising population diversity within Utah communities, traditionally regarded as ethnically homogenous. Each year, for reasons such as war, famine, and poverty, thousands of refugees flock to the United States and subsequently to states such as Utah in search of a more prosperous and less dangerous life. Whatever their background, many bring with them health conditions and medical histories that are either unknown or obscure, often presenting difficulty for their new care providers. "Primary care physicians are squarely in the middle when it comes to meeting the needs of patients from all backgrounds. Since [primary care providers] often are the first to see these patients, [they] have the opportunity to smooth their entrance into our huge and complex system, to help them find appropriate paths, and hopefully to celebrate a satisfactory outcome with them" (Setness, 1998). Increased understanding of such populations, their background, culture, lifestyle, and health beliefs is important in providing culturally competent health care for these new Utahns. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This is a descriptive study that attempts to characterize the health status of a specific population of refugees-a distinctive group of young males from the Sudan popularly referred to as the "Lost Boys"-that have recently added to the cultural diversity of Salt Lake City. Beginning in March 2001 and continuing until September 2001, approximately 130 Lost Boys were brought to Salt Lake as part of a large-scale re-settlement project that has brought nearly 4,000 "Lost Boys" to the United States. This investigation explores the health history of these young men. It also describes their current health status and health care utilization. The goal of the study is to enhance the cultural competency of Utah's health care providers by drawing attention to this particular refugee population. All refugees who have made Utah their home need just as competent and sensitive health care as do the Sudanese. Story of the "Lost Boys " The story of the "Lost Boys" is as compelling as it is heartbreaking; a brief synopsis is thus worthy of inclusion. Since Sudan gained independence in 1956, it has been a country at war with itself. The current conflict between the Islamic Northern Sudan and the mostly-Christian Southern Sudan has been going on since 1983. Some of the Lost Boys were as young as three years old when soldiers from the ruling North began to invade villages of the South, where its residents were resisting Muslim dominance and fighting for independence. Many parents were killed and villages burned, and so as many as 33,000 children fled into the wilderness with only a few hundred adults to shepherd them. The young Sudanese fled for their lives, knowing neither their destination nor what their future would hold. The children marched nearly 1,000 kilometers through African deserts-first to Ethiopia, then back through Sudan, and finally ending up in Kenya. Often naked and barefoot, the survivors endured military attacks, disease, starvation, and wild animal encounters. Many children ate leaves to stay alive and sucked water out of mud in order to obtain moisture. Literally thousands lost their lives. Under the direction of the United Nations, an emergency refugee camp was established for these youth, mostly boys, at Kakuma, Kenya. Eventually they were able to receive small rations of food, shelter, and basic schooling. Relief workers dubbed the children the "Lost Boys," after the Lost Boys of Peter Pan. For nine years the "Lost Boys" lived in Kakuma, most unsure if their parents were still alive, and all well aware of the deadly conflict still raging in Sudan. Beginning in November 2000, the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), in cooperation with the US Department of State, began to resettle these youth within the United States. They were placed in 28 states by 10 different resettlement agencies. For a time, these agencies helped them with basic necessities of life as well as in obtaining social services, education, and job training. Medicaid was granted to the youths for 8 months, but this and most other services offered to them have since expired. Like the rest of the "Lost Boys" who now reside throughout the country, the 130 Utah "Lost Boys" bring with them a striking history filled with poverty, malnutrition, war, and tragedy. Now they are striving to carve out a life for themselves here in the Beehive State. They face new challenges and handle new adventures such as education, employment, automobiles, electricity- and health care. As new Utah residents, they are members of our community and also deserving patients who need health care. 46 Utah's Health: An Annual Review Volume DC |
