P3.124: Assessing Health Needs of Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Pediatric Patients at Bradley Free Clinic

Background: Refugee and asylum-seeking children face significant barriers to healthcare, increasing their risk for preventable health conditions such as lead abnormalities, tuberculosis (TB), anemia, and dental caries. These conditions, if left untreated, can lead to long-term developmental and health complications. A critical challenge in addressing these disparities is the lack of comprehensive data on this population. Hospital records do not systematically identify refugee or asylum-seeking status, making it difficult to assess their specific healthcare needs. This gap in data limits efforts to track health trends and implement targeted interventions.

The Bradley Free Clinic (BFC) in Roanoke, Virginia, provides a unique dataset, as its pediatric clinic serves exclusively refugee and asylum-seeking children. BFC’s records allow for a more precise assessment of their health conditions.

Methods: This study utilized electronic medical records from BFC’s pediatric clinics to explores the prevalence and` associated factors of main health issues among refugee and asylum-seeking pediatric patients who visited the clinic between 2019 and May 2024. Health issues were identified through ICD-10-CM diagnostic codes, laboratory results, and provider-documented notes. Descriptive statistics reported means and percentages for patients’ demographic information and diagnoses. Exploratory analyses identified indicators associated with health outcomes applying multivariate logistic regressions. The data analysis was conducted using R Studio.

Results: Among the 326 patients included in the study: 5.6% had lead abnormalities, 2.2% had latent TB, 10.5% had anemia, and 45.2% had dental caries. Patients represented 28 countries, with the most common being Honduras (48.1%), Guatemala (12.7%), and Afghanistan (4.5%). The average age among the patients was 8.2 years (range 2–18 years). Gender distribution included 161 male and 165 female patients. Age was associated with anemia and dental caries, with younger children having greater odds of diagnosis.

Conclusion: This study highlights the high prevalence of lead abnormalities, TB, anemia, and dental caries among refugee and asylum-seeking children. The anemia prevalence of 10.5% in this study contrasts with the 2.44% anemia prevalence reported in NHANES data for U.S. children aged 6–15 years. National TB surveillance data reports an overall TB incidence of 1.0 per 100,000 person-years, while our population showed 2.2% TB prevalence. The results also highlight how lead exposure and dental issues are a struggle amongst the immigrant and refugee population.

The lack of refugee-specific data in traditional hospital records has historically limited efforts to track and address these conditions. BFC’s exclusive focus on this population allows for a more accurate representation of their healthcare needs. Findings underscore the need for improved screening, prevention, and early intervention programs tailored to refugee and immigrant children. Further research is needed to develop and evaluate targeted interventions to reduce these health disparities.