Beliefs and experiences about immunization among refugees resettled in the United States from the Thailand-Myanmar (Burma) border

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate immunization-related experiences among Karen and Karenni refugees from the Thai-Myanmar border currently living in the U.S. Exploration of knowledge, beliefs, and experiences of immunization among Karen and Karenni refugees will help strategize education programs to enhance immunization. Karen and Karenni refugees resettled in the United States from the Thai-Myanmar (Burma) border (n = 120) completed a survey on their perceptions and experiences related to immunizations. Older age was associated with higher levels of perceptions that immunizations were safe and longer-term residence in the U.S. was associated with lower levels of perceptions that immunizations were safe. While long-term side effects of immunizations are not commonly perceived, perceived short-term side effects are prevalent. With improved understanding of demographic factors related to immunization belief and perception, the healthcare system in the United States can strategize culturally fit intervention programs that alleviate potential concerns Karen and Karenni refugees might have regarding vaccination.

KEYWORDS:

• Immunizations
• perceptions
• refugees
• resettlement
• Myanmar
• USA

Acknowledgments

We thank participants of this study and Soe Meh and Naveen Rathi for their assistance for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Authors’ contributions

AC, ZA, MP, KS and AK contributed to the conceptualization, design and development of this programme. AK was primarily responsible for the programme design, development and implementation. MP and KS took main responsibility of data collection. RH worked on data management. TT wrote the first draft. AG mentored TT’s manuscript preparation. All the authors were involved in drafting of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

Ethical consideration

This study was approved by The University of Utah’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Availability of materials

The materials are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.