The applicant is revising a request for five years of funding for a K23 award to enhance his skills in health services research for forced migrant families. He proposes to broaden and deepen his research skill set through coursework and structured mentoring, and through the development and implementation of a study comparing intergenerational conflict in forced migrant and voluntary West Africans in order to propose points of intervention for forced migrant families using interventions adapted from the general immigrant literature. While a number of studies have pointed to high rates of distress among African forced migrant families post-migration, none have examined whether this distress is common to most low-income African immigrants or unique to those with a history of political violence, nor whether this distress has implications for their children. Training: The applicant will use the K award to acquire coursework and mentorship in qualitative research methods, immigration, respondent-driven sampling, qualitative analysis, multilevel modeling, and social network analysis. Sponsor Francesca Gany, MD, MS of the NYU Center for Immigrant Health will provide an experienced perspective on healthcare research with immigrant populations through regular meetings. Research: The applicant proposes a series of three research projects to complement the training. The first is a focus group study of how West African communities discuss family problems, the second is a survey of intergenerational conflict among both forced and voluntary migrants in West African communities, and the third is a focus group study West Africans to interpret findings from the second and prepare for the development of an intervention targeting intergenerational conflict. In the final year of the K award the applicant will seek funding for treatment development and clinical trials for the latter. Environment: The applicant is an Assistant Professor at the NYU School of Medicine and a researcher at the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture (PSOT), a hospital-based clinic specializing in refugee and asylee health. He will work closely with West African clients and colleagues at PSOT in interpreting research findings. In the pursuit of these goals, the applicant will draw upon the resources of NYU School of Medicine, field.

Public Health Relevance

Little has been done to design interventions to address intergenerational conflicts arising in forced migrant families. As African forced migrants constitute 55% of refugees resettled in the United States, addressing these gaps in the literature has the potential to affect a large proportion of our most vulnerable new neighbors. This project's focus on adapting Euro-American measures and service practices will provide a platform from which to develop research and interventions for other forced migrant groups (e.g. Iraqis)

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
1K23HD059075-01A1
Application #
7658471
Study Section
Pediatrics Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
Clark, Rebecca L
Project Start
2009-06-01
Project End
2014-05-31
Budget Start
2009-06-01
Budget End
2010-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$108,345
Indirect Cost
Name
New York University
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
121911077
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10016
Rasmussen, Andrew; Cissé, Aïcha; Han, Ying et al. (2018) Migration Factors in West African Immigrant Parents' Perceptions of Their Children's Neighborhood Safety. Am J Community Psychol 61:321-331
Rasmussen, Andrew; Eustache, Eddy; Raviola, Giuseppe et al. (2015) Development and validation of a Haitian Creole screening instrument for depression. Transcult Psychiatry 52:33-57
Rasmussen, Andrew; Verkuilen, Jay; Ho, Emily et al. (2015) Posttraumatic stress disorder among refugees: Measurement invariance of Harvard Trauma Questionnaire scores across global regions and response patterns. Psychol Assess 27:1160-70
Rasmussen, Andrew; Keatley, Eva; Joscelyne, Amy (2014) Posttraumatic stress in emergency settings outside North America and Europe: a review of the emic literature. Soc Sci Med 109:44-54
Rasmussen, Andrew; Ventevogel, Peter; Sancilio, Amelia et al. (2014) Comparing the validity of the self reporting questionnaire and the Afghan symptom checklist: dysphoria, aggression, and gender in transcultural assessment of mental health. BMC Psychiatry 14:206
Rasmussen, Andrew; Chu, Tracy; Akinsulure-Smith, Adeyinka M et al. (2013) The social ecology of resolving family conflict among West African immigrants in New York: a grounded theory approach. Am J Community Psychol 52:185-96
Akinsulure-Smith, Adeyinka M; Chu, Tracy; Keatley, Eva et al. (2013) Intimate Partner Violence among West African Immigrants. J Aggress Maltreat Trauma 22:109-129
Rasmussen, Andrew; Keatley, Eva; Paz, Claudia (2013) Disengagement in a torture treatment program. Psychiatr Serv 64:1280
Rasmussen, Andrew; Akinsulure-Smith, Adeyinka; Chu, Tracy et al. (2012) ""911"" Among West African immigrants in New York City: a qualitative study of parents' disciplinary practices and their perceptions of child welfare authorities. Soc Sci Med 75:516-25
Rasmussen, Andrew; Crager, Mia; Baser, Ray E et al. (2012) Onset of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression among refugees and voluntary migrants to the United States. J Trauma Stress 25:705-12

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