Whether you are a community member, resettlement professional, or spiritual leader, everyone who works with refugees has a role in suicide prevention. Building social connections with refugees can decrease their isolation and thus risk for suicide. Ways to build connection include holding a community gathering or staying in touch with a refugee to show you care. The stigma surrounding suicide often leads to silence; but speaking openly about the issue can be a powerful intervention. Asking how someone is doing and, if you are concerned about suicide, asking specifically whether that person has thoughts of killing him or herself can demonstrate caring and help identify those who could benefit from mental health services. If someone indicates they are considering suicide, giving a sense of hope and working to connect the person to mental health services is critical.

RHTAC Refugee Suicide Prevention Training Toolkit is a curriculum designed to help suicide prevention trainers teach anyone who works with refugees these suicide prevention strategies. The toolkit contains role plays based on common resettlement challenges so training participants can practice asking about suicidal thoughts and offer hope under guidance from a suicide prevention trainer. Worksheets in the toolkit can be used by trainers to help participants generate a list of social supports that take into account refugees' resiliency and their community's strengths.  

In the Literature

Interpersonal-psychological precursors to suicidal behavior: A theory of attempted and completed suicide. Van Orden KA, Merrill KA, Joiner Jr. TE. Current Psychiatry Reviews. 2005; 1, 187-196.

Visit the RHTAC website to check out Refugee Health Updates, your central hub for refugee health news, events, funding opportunities, and resources. To have refugee health updates sent to you, subscribe to our RSS feed and follow us on Twitter @RefugeeHealthTA.   

Two years ago, ORR established health and mental health services as one of its key guiding principles for effective resettlement. Since then ORR has taken several steps to promote refugee health, including creating the Office's first ever Division of Refugee Health. This new Division brings together ORR's different health-related activities under one umbrella and builds partnerships with agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services to create health-oriented programs for refugees. 

Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting, intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility, and submissiveness to God. Ramadan celebration in North America is July 20 - August 19, 2012.   During the celebration a fast, held from sunrise to sunset, is carried out by observing Muslims. In the Muslim calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so Ramadan celebration will begin on the sunset of July 19, 2012.

Based on the Quran, those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are pregnant or nursing are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year.  Muslim patients may still choose to fast because, to most, Ramadan is believed to be the most blessed and spiritually beneficial month of the Islamic year. 

Extensive resources for clinicians working with refugees who observe this holiday can be found on EthnoMed.    

More than 450 refugee-serving providers attended the North American Refugee Healthcare Conference held on June 28-30, 2012.  

Conference highlights include:

• Keynote speeches from Martin Cetron, MD, Director of CDC's Division of Global Migration and Quarantine and from Eskinder Negash, Director of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement
• Over 45 poster presentations on refugee health-related research and programs
• Seminars led by representatives from U.S. federal agencies, UNHCR, resettlement agencies, academic institutions, and state public health departments. View archived seminar presentations > 
• Advance screening of "American Heart", a documentary film that follows three resettled refugee families as they access health care in the U.S.