Adressing a Crucial Disparitiy

This work matters

This project demonstrates the importance of community co-design, participatory approaches, and culturally tailored strategies for improving health education among refugee families. By centering community knowledge and engagement, programs can increase trust, accessibility, and impact while addressing persistent nutrition-related disparities.

The Process

Mothers from Congolese, Afghan, and Burmese communities participated in recurring sessions over several months. Focus groups guided discussions about iron deficiency, cultural food preferences, and safe infant feeding practices. Sessions included a knowledge sharing discussion, a community potluck featuring iron-rich dishes, and a cooking demonstration showing how to prepare iron-rich meals and distinguish healthy snacks from less nutritious options. The final session involved filming educational videos with community members and a culturally adaptive videographer, designed to share practical nutrition guidance with the wider community.

Refugee children and infants in Clarkston, Georgia face disproportionately high rates of iron deficiency anemia, with rates ten times higher than the national average. At Ethne Health Clinic, 24.5% of refugee patients between 12 and 24 months were affected. To better understand the causes of this disparity, Refugee Women’s Network conducted a community assessment with refugee mothers. Mothers highlighted challenges including limited access to culturally appropriate nutrition education, food insecurity, language barriers, and transportation.

Forming a Response

The Multicultural Pediatric Nutrition Taskforce, which is a partnership between Refugee Women’s Network, Emory University, and Ethne Health Clinic, was developed. With the support of the Georgia Health Initiative the team developed a series of community-led health education discussions. 

Program Outcomes

After completing exit interviews with the particiapnts of the program we learned more about what was effective. Mothers expressed that they gained meaningful knowledge about iron-rich foods and safe feeding practices. They emphasized the value of hands-on, practical learning and reported that video resources are a highly accessible and engaging way to reach others, especially those with varying literacy levels.