Who we are:

SEHAT Initiative (SI), a project of the Public Health Institute (PHI), has been established in response to the humanitarian and healthcare needs of refugee and immigrant populations. SI focuses on improving the health and well-being of the Afghan refugee and immigrant population in California and throughout the United States. Founded by medical and public health experts from within the refugee and immigrant community, SI serves as a crucial bridge between refugees and immigrants and their wider medical and social environment. SEHAT (صحت), the Arabic/Afghan word for health, foretells a healthy beginning of a new life in the United States. SI projects are implemented in close collaboration with refugees and immigrants, community-based organizations, researchers, and academic institutions.

Why we are needed:

The resettlement of refugees is a pressing issue, not only for the refugees, but also a wide assortment of service providers including federal, state, local health jurisdictions, resettlement agencies, physicians, healthcare providers, and school districts. Service providers lack sufficient culturally congruent technical expertise, leading to refugees' healthcare challenges being overlooked or overmedicalized. This in turn, results in needless suffering to refugees and enormous healthcare costs.

What we do:

Our refugee health experts provide evidence-based, culturally-congruent, and trauma-informed technical expertise, education, training, and consultation to refugees and health service providers, and conduct research to generate evidence and advance knowledge related to refugee health.

In its current capacity, SI provides support in three areas:

1) Education: Educate refugees on health and wellness and improve their access to healthcare services in the United States

2) Training: Train service providers on refugee health profile, evidence-based, culturally congruent, and trauma-informed services

3) Research: Conduct refugee health research and evaluation by employing validated scales and methods tailored for refugees