Refugee Health and Well-being in Buffalo

Courtesy of Jewish Family Services of Buffalo and Erie County

From 2003 to 2014, Erie County's four resettlement agencies resettled 9,723 refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Burma, Bhutan, and now Syria. Refugees receive resettlement support for three months time but, post-resettlement, face barriers to good health and well-being due to limited english proficiency coupled with a scarcity of interpreters and translators, mental health issues related to trauma and torture, lack of transportation, and a derth of culturally-engaged health professionals, pharmacists, and emergency care providers.

Our Working Solutions

Identifying Needs Testing Options Scaling Up

Oral Histories
7/3/20
Buffalo, NY has a century long history of welcoming immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. For many years now, refugees and immigrants have contributed to the prosperity and diversity of WNY. However, numerous cultural, religious, educational, economic, language, social, and political barriers affect their health and wellbeing. Nationalistic ideologies are breeding fear and persecution of the ‘other’ leading to overt and subtle degrees of discrimination. Some fear what they do not know.
Understanding the Global within the Local: Educational Policy and Programmatic Supports for Displaced Youth
6/11/20
Largescale displacement, both within and across international borders, has occurred on a scale not witnessed since the Second World War.
Reproductive health decision‐making among US‐dwelling Somali Bantu refugee women: A qualitative study
6/11/20
Dr. Kafuli Agbemenu, assistant professor of nursing, conducts innovative community-based research to improve the reproductive health of vulnerable and marginalized populations of women living in the U.S. Her most recent study, Reproductive health decision-making among US-dwelling Somali Bantu refugee women: A qualitative study, published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, aimed to explore Somali Bantu refugee women's reproductive health decision-making, as influenced by their resettlement in the U.S. The study revealed that children are, for Somali Bantu Women, considered as wealth. If health care providers are equipped with a more culturally nuanced understanding of factors that influence reproductive health decision-making, they can provide person-centered care that meets their patients needs and is appropriate.
Dealing with Disparities in Food Acquisition Among Refugees (DDFAR)
2/27/20
At the end of 2014, 19.5 million people were reported to be refugees in the world, and the number has continued to rise. In 2014, 4,085 refugees were resettled in New York State, with Erie County receiving the highest number. Resettlement is meant to be a durable, long-term habitation solution so refugees can lead full, healthy lives. However, refugees are often resettled in neighborhoods that expose populations to a variety of health risks.
Annual WNY Refugee Health Summit
3/3/21
Co-sponsored by the University at Buffalo’s Community for Global Health Equity and School of Public Health and Health Professions’ Office of Global Health Initiatives, the annual Refugee Health Summit unites clinicians, resettlement representatives, community health workers, researchers, students, municipal leaders, and refugees. The 5 Annual WNY Refugee Health Summit will highlight the innovative university-community partnerships that have resulted in research, programming, and solutions to improve health and wellbeing for refugees.
Global Innovation Challenge: 2017
1/10/19
The world is amidst the largest humanitarian refugee crisis since WWII. This affects not only refugee populations and the nations that border conflict areas but cities and countries around the world. For example, approximately 1,500 refugees arrive in Buffalo each year – making it one of the top resettlement sites in the U.S.

Our Team

Faculty Fellows

Kafuli Agbemenu

Co-Lead, Refugee Health and Wellbeing team; Project Lead, Reproductive Health Decision-Making; Assistant Professor

School of Nursing

201 D Wende Hall

Phone: Phone: 716-829-6023

Email: agbemenu@buffalo.edu

James Bono

Associate Professor and Faculty Emeritus, Medicine and History

Department of History

546 Park Hall

Phone: 716-645-2181 x553

Email: hischaos@buffalo.edu

Colleen Culleton

Associate Professor of Spanish

Romance Languages and Literatures

910 Clemens

Phone: 716-645-0861

Email: culleton@buffalo.edu

Roberto Diaz Del Carpio

Clinical Assistant Professor

Department of Medicine

Hertel Elmwood Internal Medicine Center 900 Hertel Ave. Buffalo, NY 14216

Phone: 716-871-1571

Email: rod2@buffalo.edu

Thomas Feeley

Professor

Department of Communication

354 Baldy Hall

Phone: 716-645-1160

Email: thfeeley@buffalo.edu

Joseph Gambacorta

Assistant Dean, Clinical Affairs

School of Dental Medicine

325 Squire Hall

Phone: 716-829-2836

Email: jeg9@buffalo.edu

Kim Griswold

Project Lead, Standardized Patient Project; Professor

Department of Family Medicine

77 Goodell Street, Suite 220U

Phone: 716-816-7247

Email: griswol@buffalo.edu

James N. Jensen

Professor; Director of Undergraduate Studies, Environmental Engineering

Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

232 Jarvis Hall

Phone: 716-645-4007

Email: jjensen@buffalo.edu

Alex Judelsohn

UB Alumna

Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab

Email: ajudelso@buffalo.edu

Isok Kim

Associate Professor

School of Social Work

667 Baldy Hall

Phone: 716-645-1252

Email: isokkim@buffalo.edu

Wooksoo Kim

Associate Professor

School of Social Work

685 Baldy Hall

Phone: 716-645-1227

Email: wkim5@buffalo.edu

Melinda Lemke

Co-Lead, Refugee Health and Wellbeing team; Assistant Professor

Educational Leadership and Policy

470 Baldy Hall

Phone: 716-645-1090

Email: malemke@buffalo.edu

Li Lin

Founding Co-lead, Community for Global Health Equity; Professor

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

412 Bell Hall Buffalo

Phone: 716-645-4713

Email: indlin@buffalo.edu

Shaanta Murshid

Co-Lead, Global Child team; Associate Professor

School of Social Work

Baldy Hall

Phone: 716-645-3381

Email: nadinemu@buffalo.edu

Heather Orom

Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

Department of Community Health and Health Behavior

304 Kimball Tower Buffalo, NY 14214

Phone: 716-829-6682; Fax: 716-829-6040

Email: horom@buffalo.edu

Erkin Ozay

Assistant Professor

Department of Architecture

Hayes B 06C

Phone: 716-829-6912

Email: eozay@buffalo.edu

Gina Prescott

Clinical Assistant Professor

Department of Pharmacy

215 Kapoor (John) Hall

Phone: 716-645-2828

Email: gmzurick@buffalo.edu

Samina Raja

Co-Director and Founding Co-Lead, Community for Global Health Equity; Co-Lead, Food Equity Team; Project Lead, Plan REFUGE; Professor

Urban and Regional Planning

233C Hayes Hall

Phone: 716-829-5881

Email: sraja@buffalo.edu

Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah

Clinical Assistant Professor

Organization and Human Resources

251 Jacobs Management Center

Phone: 716-645-3234

Email: dasamoah@buffalo.edu

Jessica Scates

Programs Manager

Global Health Equity

220 Hayes Hall

Phone: 716-829-5371

Email: jmscates@buffalo.edu

John Stone

Clinical Associate Professor

Department of Rehabilitation Science

416 Kimball Tower

Phone: 716-829-6739

Email: jstone@buffalo.edu

Kory Smith

Founding Co-Lead, Community for Global Health Equity; Professor and Chair

Department of Architecture

Phone: 716-575-2874

Email: khsmith@buffalo.edu

Edward Steinfeld

SUNY Distinguished Professor

Department of Architecture

382 Hayes Hall

Phone: 716-829-5899

Email: arced@buffalo.edu

Karen Zinnerstrom

Coordinator for Training and Evaluation

Clinical Competency Center

211 Cary Hall

Phone: 716-829-3455

Email: khz@buffalo.edu

Student Associates

Nicole Little

UB Alumna; Former Graduate Assistant

MArch, MUP

Alumni

Biplab Bhattacharya, PhD

UB Alumnus; Former Graduate Assistant

Industrial and Systems Engineering and Community for Global Health Equity

Email: biplabsu@buffalo.edu

Danielle Vasquez

Graduate Student

Management and Public Health and Health Professions

Opportunities to Engage

Contact Us

Refugee Health and Well-being in Buffalo

Our Working Solutions

Our Team

Faculty Fellows

Student Associates

Alumni

Community of Excellence in Global Health Equity