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To help ensure refugee children have a healthy start to their lives in the United States, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) recently shared information with the University’s Occupational Therapy (OT) students on how to make that happen.
The virtual event, held in January 2022, was sponsored by the University’s chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon (PTE) — the national honor society for OT students — and the Salus Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) chapter, featured Mary Fabio, MD, of the CHOP Refugee Program.
The main takeaway from the information shared was refugee children and their families have complex medical needs requiring an interdisciplinary team to address, according to Emily Shangle OT ‘22, president of the Salus chapter of PTE.
"Salus students can move forward in their careers with knowledge of their profession’s role in refugee lives and the psychosocial factors that should be considered when treating these patients,” said Shangle. “Specifically, occupational therapists can contribute to the care team by ensuring that these clients are able to navigate the unfamiliar society while still taking care of their basic needs, roles, routines, and overall health and wellbeing.”
Danielle Ferrera OT ‘23, president of the University’s SOTA chapter, said the group was excited when PTE reached out to SOTA to pair up for the event.
“Our role was to create a fundraiser to raise money for the Refugee Health Program as well as continue PTE’s goal to spread the word about the virtual event,” said Ferrera.
The group not only wanted to become involved in fundraising efforts, but believed it was a great educational opportunity for members to learn more about this population and how future healthcare professionals can have an impact.
According to both students, the information provided can help all health science students at Salus understand the refugee population and the unique challenges refugees may face as they are immersed in a new community.
Dr. Fabio explained her role in the program and how she and other professionals at CHOP have helped many refugee children receive services and treatments they deserve. For example, one of the services provided through this program are screenings for infectious conditions and developmental delays.
“Occupational therapists can contribute to this cause by ensuring client-centered therapy focused on what occupations are most important for these specific clients,” said Ferrera. “With the prior knowledge of this vulnerable population, OTs can recognize that they may have faced occupational injustice in their past. Therefore, we can work together with each individual client to promote community involvement and life skills training.”
Dr. Fabio also shared personal stories about working with refugee children and families, both local and abroad throughout her career, that resonated with the students.
“Since many of us want to support a diverse range of clients during our careers, it’s important that we take into consideration this population and the challenges they may face relocating to a different country and the medical needs they require,” said Shangle.
According to the students, Dr. Fabio’s presentation was informative and inspiring and will help them make an impact on the refugee population in the future.
“I enjoyed listening to how passionate she was about the topic and by the end of her presentation I think everyone was inspired to make a difference like she has with the refugee population,” said Shangle.
