Associate Professors Wooksoo Kim and Isok Kim, PhD student Krisztina Baltimore, and colleagues publish article, "Social determinants of mental health among Karen refugees from Burma"

Kudos to Associate Professors Wooksoo Kim and Isok Kim, PhD student Krisztina Baltimore, and their colleagues on the publication of their article, "Social determinants of mental health among Karen refugees from Burma" in the Community Mental Health Journal.

Kim, W., Kim, I., Lin, L., Baltimore, K., & Lin, L. (2021). Social determinants of depression among Karen ethnic refugees from Burma. Community Mental Health Journal.

Extant literature has documented a higher level of mental health issues among refugee populations compared with that of the general population. Mental health problems may significantly decrease refugees’ quality of life and interfere with a successful transition to their country of resettlement. Using the social determinants of mental health framework, we examined factors affecting psychological distress among Karen refugees from Burma residing in a mid-size city in a northeastern state in the United States. A total of 201 participants completed face-to-face interviews conducted in the Karen language. Results showed that trauma and religious participation were positively associated and education and health status were negatively associated with psychological distress. The findings of this study reiterate the importance of trauma and health conditions to mental health and suggest potential points of interventions among the resettled Karen refugees.