COVID-19 Infection and Contact Tracing Among Refugees in the United States, 2020-2021

Mengxi Zhang; Colleen Payton; Ashok Gurung; Philip Anglewicz; Parangkush Subedi; Ahmed Ali; Anisa Ibrahim; Mahri Haider; Navid Hamidi; Jacob Atem; Jenni Thang; Siqin Wang; Curi Kim; Sarah L Kimball; Fatima Karaki; Najib Nazhat; Mouammar Abouagila; Katherine Yun

doi:10.1007/s10903-022-01441-6

COVID-19 Infection and Contact Tracing Among Refugees in the United States, 2020-2021

J Immigr Minor Health. 2023 Dec;25(6):1239-1245. doi: 10.1007/s10903-022-01441-6. Epub 2022 Dec 31.

Authors

Mengxi Zhang¹, Colleen Payton², Ashok Gurung³, Philip Anglewicz⁴, Parangkush Subedi⁵, Ahmed Ali⁶, Anisa Ibrahim⁷, Mahri Haider^{8

9}, Navid Hamidi¹⁰, Jacob Atem¹¹, Jenni Thang¹², Siqin Wang^{13

14}, Curi Kim⁵, Sarah L Kimball^{15

16}, Fatima Karaki¹⁷, Najib Nazhat¹⁸, Mouammar Abouagila¹⁹, Katherine Yun²⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Systems and Implementation Science, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, 24073, USA. mengxizhang@vt.edu.
² School of Nursing and Public Health, Moravian University, Bethlehem, PA, USA.
³ PolicyLab, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁴ Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington DC, USA.
⁶ Somali Health Board, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁷ Pediatric Clinic, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁸ Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁹ International Medicine Clinic, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹⁰ Afghan Health Initiative, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹¹ Southern Sudan Healthcare Organization, Okemos, MI, USA.
¹² Department of Consulting Psychology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
¹³ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
¹⁴ Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Hongo, Japan.
¹⁵ Boston University School of Medicine, 72 E Concord St, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁶ Immigrant and Refugee Health Center, Boston Medical Center, 725 Albany St, Suite 5B, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹⁸ Refugees Northwest, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹⁹ Refugee Resettlement and Placement Services, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, SeaTac, WA, USA.
²⁰ Division of General Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine Philadelphia, 3401 Civic Center Blvd. , Philadelphia, PA, USA. yunk@chop.edu.

Abstract

Refugees in the United States are believed to be at high risk of COVID-19. A cross-sectional study design was utilized to collect anonymous, online surveys from refugee communities in the United States during December 2020 to January 2021. We invited bilingual community leaders to share the survey link with other refugees aged ≥18 years. We identified factors associated with COVID-19 infection and measured the distribution of contact tracing among those who tested positive. Of 435 refugees who completed the survey, 26.4% reported testing positive for COVID-19. COVID-19 infection was associated with having an infected family member and knowing people in one's immediate social environment who were infected. Among respondents who tested positive, 84.4% reported that they had been contacted for contact tracing. To prepare for future pandemics, public health authorities should continue partner with refugee community leaders and organizations to ensure efficient programs are inclusive of refugee communities.

Keywords: COVID-19; Case investigation; Contact tracing; Infection; Refugee.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
COVID-19*
Contact Tracing
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Public Health
Refugees*
United States / epidemiology