Browsing by Subject "Somali"

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Association Between Somali Mothers' Oral Health Literacy and Their Children's Caries Experience in Minnesota
(2019-07) Zeyer, Kylee
ABSTRACT Objectives: Dental caries is a major oral health problem among U.S. immigrant children, and Minnesota is home to one of the largest Somali-American communities, but little is known about this population’s oral health and oral health literacy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Somali mothers’ oral health literacy and their children’s caries experience in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas in Minnesota. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed. Data were extracted from a larger cross-sectional study consisting of 99 Somali mothers and 292 children from twelve Somali-owned daycare centers in 3 Minnesota cities. Participating mothers completed an oral health literacy survey (HeLD-14), and mothers and their children received oral screenings where caries experience was recorded using the dfs/DMFS caries indices. Results: Mean age in years was 34.3 for mothers and 6.4 for children. Mothers had moderate oral health literacy with a mean HeLD-14 score of 8.4. The children’s mean dfs score was 3.3, and their mean DMFS score was 0.8. The children’s caries was not associated with the mothers’ total oral health literacy score, although, statistically significant associations were found between 3 of 7 HeLD-14 subcategories: access to care, receptivity, and economic barriers. Conclusions: Somali children’s caries experience was similar to U.S.-born comparatives, but lower than African-American children of similar age. Given, the children’s below average caries experience and the mothers’ moderate level of oral health literacy, may be an indicator that this population does not suffer from oral health disparities related to the oral health literacy and caries experience of mother-child pairs. Key Words: Oral health literacy; Somali; Immigrant; Oral health; Oral health status; Caries experience; Children’s oral health.
Caries Experience amongst Somali Mother-Child Pairs: A Cross-Sectional Study
(2017-12) Entinger, Jodie
Purpose: Minnesota is home to the world’s largest population of Somali refugees, yet little is known about their oral health. Multiple social determinants are known to affect oral health outcomes including a strong relationship between maternal-child caries experience in non-migratory populations. New evidence has shown that this relationship is disrupted in migrant populations. This study explores the correlation between caries experience of Somali immigrant mothers and their children. The study further investigated the association of oral health perceptions and caries experience of the mothers. Methods: As part of a larger study using a community-engaged approach, 75 mother child dyads were enrolled at nine urban day care centers. Clinical data were collected utilizing dmfs and DMFS scores for children and DMFS scores for mothers. A survey compiled from previously validated instruments designed specifically for this study was completed by each mother. Descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation and linear regression modeling were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean age of mothers and children was 33.8 and 8.2 years, respectively. Mothers had lived in the US an average of 9.6 years. Almost all mothers and children were insured, and 68.6% of children reported a dental visit within the past year. No correlation was found between Somali mother-child caries experience. There was a iv statistically significant positive association between mother oral health perception and caries experience. Conclusions: The oral health of a Somali child does not necessarily reflect that of the mother, contrary to results from previous studies. Somali mothers’ self-perception of oral health reflects their caries experience. Practical applications include planning an intervention using a community-engaged process to prevent caries in children’s primary teeth
A Case Study of the Academic Success of Somali Refugee Students in a Two-Year Community College.
(2015-08) Ibrahim, Mustafa
Abstract This is a mixed-method, qualitative study of 36 Somali students to uncover key factors affecting their academic success in a two-year community college in the Twin Cities of Minnesota/St. Paul. The Twin Cities metropolitan area has become a preferred location in the US for Somali diaspora to settle because of the rich social, economic, and educational opportunities offered. A purposive sample of 18 current and 18 drop-outs male and female students were selected from a population of 234 Somali students who attended one of the largest and well-known community and technical colleges in the Twin Cities area. All 234 students participated in a screening questionnaire consisting of questions about socio-cultural conditions. Thirty-six students in the purposive sample were selected based on their responses to the screening questionnaire, were asked to participate in a semi-structured focus group interview and an individual interview. Three major themes emerged from the data related to cultural identity and sense of place, language use, and motivation. Somali students who were most successful academically had acculturated additively keeping their "Somaliness" while at the same time actively adopting American cultural values, skills, and practices. In addition, the most successful students valued persistent, committed educational progress whether their goals were modest or ambitious. Most who succeeded also had the most substantial and consistent family support, university financial, social integration, and years of English language exposure.
Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Experiences of First Generation, Middle Aged Somali Women: A Descriptive Qualitative Study
(2019-01) Swartz, Kristin L.
Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent and costly health conditions in the United States. In refugees and immigrants, chronic pain is more prevalent and the severity of pain is higher. Musculoskeletal chronic pain is one the most common forms of pain that refugees and immigrants experience. In collaborating with a local community clinic, practitioners shared that middle-aged Somali women experienced a high incidence of non-specific musculoskeletal chronic pain that practitioners struggled to address through typical treatment measures. In a review of the literature it was found that no studies described chronic musculoskeletal pain for middle-aged Somali women, nor factors that contribute to their interpretation and management of pain. To date, there are no studies that specifically address chronic musculoskeletal pain in a refugee group in the United States, and few studies utilized a social ecological approach to describe the influence of environmental, societal, and immigration experiences in the management of pain. In this community-informed, descriptive qualitative study, musculoskeletal chronic pain experiences of first-generation, middle aged (40-65) Somali women living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are described. Utilizing the social ecological model and the dynamic biopsychosocial model, twelve core themes emerged that show the biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors that influenced participant experiences with pain. For Somali women in this study, the physical sensation of pain originated in the biological level and extended through the psychological and social levels of the microsystem. This physical experience of pain created a catalyzing influence that extended across the levels of the social ecological model. The core themes were: physical experience of pain, daily function and career, self-care practices, emotional experience of pain, recommendations for others experiencing pain, recommendations for community and clinics in treating pain, relationships with others, experience accessing care, financial impact, insurance affect, religious practice, traditional medicine and country of origin pain management, and sociopolitical issues. For these seventeen, first-generation, middle aged Somali women, pain was complex and multidimensional, and the physical experience of pain was only one aspect of chronic pain experience. Sociopolitical experiences were profound and triggered worry and fear that influenced pain. Insurance & financial issues compounded complexity with chronic pain management. Traditional medicine, memory of Somalia, and experience in Somalia were valuable resources and points of reference for managing pain. Pain influenced a Somali woman’s ability to secure a steady job. Pain management strategies were diverse and included integrative modalities. Religious practice was a key resource to pain management and overall pain experience. Participants sought alternatives to medications and used medications when necessary; and recommended and used exercise to manage pain. Health care providers played a key role in Somali women’s pain management. Many of these findings aligned with previous literature; however, the extensive multidimensionality of pain across the levels of the social ecological model is a new finding that should be further studied. In addition, further research is needed to expand knowledge related these findings and their potential to be generalized to other Somali women and men, and immigrants and refugees from other countries. In particular, to explore and define “Pain all over”, to investigate practitioner experiences in working with Somali patients and pain and how they approach the clinical interaction, and to examine outcomes of religious practice in pain-management. The implications of this research are several. Findings suggest the importance of story in working with Somali women to understand the meaning and cause of pain, in addition to the positive influence of health care providers when participants felt heard. Insights into how discrimination and an intense sociopolitical climate may influence the health and well-being of Somali women also emerged. Concerns were raised on language interpretation services and a need for further oversight and regulation was identified, in addition to the barriers participant’s experienced in understanding the ever-changing insurance landscape. More effort is needed to educate the greater community on experiences of immigrants and refugees in order to make informed changes in our communities, health systems, and political environment. These findings show that this social ecological approach to chronic pain treatment and management may be helpful in understanding the lived experience of pain for Somali women.
Engaging Somali Young Adults in Cedar-Riverside: Opportunities for Programming and Collaboration
(Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 2009-05-20) Fleck, Peter; Gardner, Leah; Kasper, Eric
The Cedar Riverside Neighborhood Revitalization Program (CRNRP) and the Somali American Education Program (SAEP), along with others in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, have serious concerns about the neighborhood’s young adult Somali population due to last year’s spike in homicides (3), reports of gang activity, and the disappearances of young adults allegedly returning to Somalia. To address these concerns, CRNRP and SAEP partnered with our team of three graduate students from the Humphrey Institute Cedar-Humphrey Action for Neighborhood Collaborative Engagement (CHANCE) on a research project. We used a community-based research model to achieve the following goals: • Assess the scope and capacity of current programs for Somali young adults; • Determine areas where programming was missing or could be enhanced; and • Engage Somali young adults in a co-creative dialogue to identify their needs and capacities and to make use of their knowledge and experiences in identifying solutions. Our research included a review of the relevant literature, identification of promising practices, an analysis of current programming for young adults, identification of program funding opportunities, fourteen interviews with community stakeholders, and two learning circle conversations with youth. While we will focus on the Somali population within Cedar Riverside, we believe that our recommendations and program suggestions may be utilized to address the needs of Oromo and other East African immigrants and refugees living in the neighborhood. Our literature review explored background characteristics related to positive and negative behaviors among young adults including immigrant and refugee status, exposure to violence and trauma, and parental educational attainment. We found that maintaining cultural identification, higher parental educational attainment, English proficiency, participation in structured programming, strength of peer and family relationships, and involvement with religious organizations all had a positive effect on being civically engaged, achieving higher levels of education, and obtaining employment. A lack of these characteristics along with exposure to violence and trauma as children leads to an increased likelihood of violent and deviant behavior as adults.
Exploring intersectionality in physical activity spaces among Somali adolescent girls: implications for programming
(2012-10) Thul, Chelsey Marie
Thul and LaVoi (2011) conducted a study in 2008, titled "Reducing Physical Inactivity and Promoting Active Living: From the Voices of East African Immigrant Adolescent Girls," to learn about barriers facing this underserved population. The purpose of the study was to explore East African (n= 12 Somali, and n= 7 Ethiopian) adolescent females' experiences with and beliefs about physical activity, and their suggestions for promoting active living. Based on the data, the girls faced barriers on multiple levels which impeded their physical activity participation. To overcome barriers the girls suggested a culturally relevant, female-only physical activity program be developed. Based on the girls' wishes, in 2008 the Girls Initiative in Recreation and Leisurely Sports (G.I.R.L.S.) program was created for primarily East African adolescent and young adult females, and implemented in a gym at the Brian Coyle Center in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thul--a participant-volunteer-consultant to the program--noticed the gym and other physical activity spaces in the neighborhood appeared to be contested spaces wherein "real and symbolic boundaries have been drawn to limit access" (Cooky, 2009, p. 260) for the participants. Specifically, Thul observed several physical activity spaces and the female participants who used them were affected by the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, class, religion, and cultural markers of identity. Thul, in conjunction with G.I.R.L.S. program leaders, decided conducting a spatial needs assessment and extending Thul and LaVoi's (2011) study by listening to girls' voices was imperative for understanding their experiences with, and perceptions of, the identity markers and physical activity space, as well as the impact such experiences have on future physical activity programming. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation study was two-fold: 1) to employ Henri Lefebvre's (1991) Conceptual Model of Social Space and aspects of a feminist participatory action research (FPAR) approach to explore Somali adolescent girls' experiences with, and perceptions of, the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, class, religion, and culture in perceived, conceived, and lived physical activity spaces in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, and 2) to understand the implications of the Lefebvre's model for locating and implementing future physical activity programming. Data collection included mixed methods--a quantitative participatory mapping activity (n = 30) to assess perceived space, and focus groups (n= 27) to explore the intersection of the identity constructs within conceived and lived spaces. Numerical trending of the participatory maps, and deductive and inductive content analysis of the focus groups, revealed many complex findings. The overarching finding was that physical activity spaces for Somali females are contested terrain. Perceived space mapping trends indicated males had more access to physical activity spaces than females, indoor physical activity spaces were perceived as more relevant than outdoor ones, and females have low accessibility to physical spaces. Participants' perceived space definitions and behaviors of physical activity revealed a wide ranging definition and performances of physical activity. Conceived space themes suggested an intersection of identity markers influenced a variety of gender ideologies and expectations of females, social constructions of femininity, cultural and religious beliefs and tensions, and ethnic Somali cultural norms. Together the perceived space, conceived space, and identity markers impacted an array of lived space perceptions and experiences regarding a lack of freedom, gender spatial inequality, surveillance tensions, familiarity tensions, inclusivity tensions, accessibility, and strategies for change. These findings indicate future physical activity programming should maintain its inclusivity of all females regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, and culture, as well as take place in accessible, high-quality, private community locations. The findings also support the need to incorporate a wide variety of physical activities and occasionally new venues, ensure trusted, adult-female surveillance, and maintain accessibility. Above all, however, the findings suggest multi-systemic efforts must be undertaken to achieve spatial equality for physical activity among Somali adolescent girls.
Housing Issues Facing Somali Refugees in Minneapolis, MN
(Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 2009-12-15) Dischinger, Jeffrey D.
When these Somali immigrants arrive in Minnesota they are coming to a place very foreign to them and are in desperate need to find somewhere they can go to find help and to meet people they can relate to. In order for them to have a smooth transition into their new life here it is of extreme importance they have somewhere to turn for help. This is why I am recommending improvements to how the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority helps Somali refugees find housing in Minneapolis. Affordable housing is an essential component for refugees to become successful in the United States. We can do more to make their transition into the United States successful and give them a better opportunity to make a better life for themselves in this country.
Identity Development of Somali College Student
(2017-08) Adam, Jamal
While there has been a considerable research on college students’ experiences and identity development, there is a gap on literature on immigrant college students and their collegiate experiences. This scarcity of knowledge on immigrant students has deleterious effect on these students’ academic success and psychosocial wellbeing. This is particularly critical at a time when these students face multiple and intersecting marginalizations because of their racial, ethnic, religious identities. This dissertation examines the identity development of Somali college students and how its impacted by the overlapping contextual environments in which their lives are embedded. The dissertation project uses qualitative method. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews and grounded theory constructivist methodology, data collection and analyses were conducted in tandem. Findings suggest the presence of four salient dimensions of racial, ethnic, religious and gender identity as well as meanings associated with each dimension. Racial identity was associated with experiences of political subjectivities as Blacks struggling for equality in a racialized society whereas ethnic identity was associated solidarity and belonging informed by diasporic experiences of longing and memories of participants’ ancestral homeland, Somalia. Religious identity, owing to racialization of Islam in media and society, was associated with experiences that mirrored their racial identity while gender identity was associated sense of individual agency that challenged gender norms in Somali culture. These four dimensions of identity often intersected in ways that either amplified or erased an aspect of identity. In each of these dimensions, participants contrasted their experiences as second-generation immigrants with those of their first-generation parents.
Let's Beat the Bed Bug task sheet: Somali
(University of Minnesota Extension, 2011) Shindelar, Amelia; Kells, Stephen
Nutrition for the Underserved: The Implications: Focus Group Results: Somali
(University of Minnesota Extension, Center for Family Development, 2008-03) Brown, Arthur; Marczak, Mary S; Van Offelen, Sara J
Oral Health: Bridging Somali Traditions and Western Practice - Recommendations for Technical Communicators
(2016-04) Moe, Kevin
Language and cultural barriers often prevent immigrants from assimilating successfully in their new home. This is especially true of Somali immigrants in terms of their oral health needs. Oral health care is traditionally important to Somalis, yet they report poor oral health now that they are in Minnesota. To date, there has been a lack of effective communication between Somali immigrants and Western oral health practitioners. This paper attempts to show how technical communication strategies can effectively bridge this gap. To highlight the problem, this paper synthesizes published research on immigrant barriers to health care, traditional Somali oral health care beliefs, interviews with Somali immigrants, and interviews with dentists who work with immigrant populations. Also, Western attempts to craft immigrant-appropriate healthcare materials are examined. The author then applies technical communication best practices to offer recommendations on how to improve communications between Western oral health practitioners and their Somali immigrant patients. A communication program for each group is provided, along with avenues for future research.
The spirit and strength of Somali youth in America
(2012-12) Leet-Otley, Jill M.
Somali youth experience significant amounts of racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia in our schools and communities. In addition, Somali girls are seen as being monolithically oppressed by their culture and religion. My dissertation research demonstrates the spirit and strength of Somali youth as they respond to these marginalizing discourses. My year-long ethnographic study took place at a K–8 charter school that was founded by the Somali community in order to meet the academic, cultural, and religious needs of Somali students. I was primarily interested in how fifth and sixth grade Somali youth experience racialization, and how Somali girls make sense of Somali and American gender norms. Findings reveal that racialization was highly gendered. Somali boys took up some Black cultural discourses, such as listening to rap music and speaking in Black stylized English, but resisted identifying as Black. Instead they created hybrid Somali American identities. At the same time, parents and elders worried about Somali boys “sagging their pants” and “acting like African Americans.” African American youth culture became synonymous with the negative aspects of American youth culture such as drugs, gangs, and violence. Meanwhile, fewer girls engaged with Black cultural discourses. The greater concern within this community was that Somali girls who wore pants or tight clothes would start ‘acting like White girls.’ The concern with ‘acting like a White girl’ was a trope for being sexually promiscuous; in other words, for not being Muslim. Experiences with racialization were necessarily bound up with hegemonic notions of White masculinity and femininity. Although the hijab is often seen as a symbol of oppression in the West, I show how the girls embraced the veil and subverted the discrimination they experienced, insisting that they are equal to boys. Wearing the veil allowed the girls to challenge some gender norms while remaining connected to their families, their faith, and their community. My research shows how the girls wove together American, Somali, and Muslim gender discourses based on their homegrown experiences and unique desires and interests. The most significant way in which the girls embraced gender equity was in the high academic and professional goals they had set for themselves. Very little research exists on immigrant youth of this age and almost no research is available on second generation Somali American youth. My research breaks new ground, both in terms of my participants, and in the ways in which I attend to their creativity and strength, and their determination to succeed in America.
Third Molar Development in Somalis as Compared with Caucasians and a New Method of Classification of Third Molar Development
(2015-06) Hammer, Christine
The third molar has been suggested as a reliable and useful indicator in age estimation during late adolescence to determine if an individual of unknown age has reached the age of majority. It is known that the rate of dental development is influenced by ethnic origin, and thus it is of importance to develop population specific dental development standards. Little is currently known of the rate of third molar development in Somali people. To compare the chronological ages at which third molar developmental stages are reached in American-born Somali and Caucasian individuals aged 10 to 20 years old, and to develop a reliable method of classifying third molar developmental stages.A total of 217 third molars were analyzed from 57 panoramic images of 24 individuals. The developmental stages of all molars were determined by two examiners using both the Demirjian et al. (1973) methods and the method proposed in this study. Trends in the data suggest that Somali individuals reach each of the stages of third molar development at younger chronological ages than Caucasian individuals. Numbers of molars within each stage of development were not large enough to test for a significant difference between the two ethnicities. The new classification of third molar development was more reliable than the Demirjian et al. method when used to analyze this study's data.Staging by both classification systems suggests that Somali third molars may develop at a younger age than Caucasian third molars. The classification system introduced here is more reliable than the widely-used Demirjian method.
Tol, Xeer, and Somalinimo: recognizing Somali and Mushunguli refugees as agents in the integration process.
(2010-07) Kutty, Vinodh
The problem with how to approach the integration of refugees is both conceptual and practical. Not only do researchers in the field define "integration" differently, but also those who define and develop policies relating to integration tend to approach the issue in different ways. In current anthropological literature, empirical studies about integration have tended to adopt a "top-down" approach to the concept of integration and, therefore, to focus on structural and organizational aspects of the integration system. There is little research that focuses on the "voice" of refugees and even more of a dearth of research that studies them as active participants in their own integration process. Integration impacts upon both the refugees and the host community and requires the willingness of both groups to adjust. This does not mean an abandonment of roots and native cultures; rather it is a process of building bridges and reshaping identities to accommodate the transnational realities of the modern world. As a host community, Luckenville is experiencing what other host communities first experienced when a huge influx of refugees suddenly came and ended up as neighbors, community members, and colleagues at work. Government institutions and local community agencies have not been prepared and have experienced many challenges when dealing with service provision to the Mushungulis and other Somali refugees. Lacking an infrastructure that is able to provide cultural and linguistically appropriate services to the new Americans who do not speak English as a first language, the host community of Luckenville has struggled to ensure that the Mushungulis and other Somali refugees have the tools necessary to help them integrate as community members and as citizens. By understanding tol, xeer, qabils, and Somalinimo, I propose how the Mushungulis and other Somali refugees can draw upon their culture, identity, kinship (tol), the social contract (xeer) between the qabils (commonly translated as "clans") and their "Somaliness" (Somalinimo) to help them cope with the integration process as active agents and social actors as opposed to victims as they are often portrayed. This building of social capital needs to be done not only between qabils in the Somali community but between the Mushungulis and the larger Somali community as well. Together with conducting interviews with a cross-section of service providers and members of the host community of Luckenville and the Twin Cities, my research demonstrates how host communities can perceive and participate in the integration process by redefining new meanings of community and building intra-ethnic communal social capital. By building on previous research, this dissertation adds to the anthropological literature and addresses gaps in theory and practice that have not viewed refugees as agents in their own resettlement process and which have rarely paid attention to the impact of refugee resettlement upon members of host communities. It also proposes new recommendations that can help the integration and resettlement process so that refugees and host communities can build mutual understanding and create trust upon which full acceptance and belonging in the community depend on.
Views of Science Teaching and Learning by Immigrant Somali Elders: Perceptions of Conflict and Acceptance
(2015-12) Albrecht, Nancy
The gap between a student’s home culture and that of classroom science may create challenges for students and families, especially those from recent immigrant cultures, including refugees. As a result, science learning in schools may require a form of cultural border crossing between home cultures and the culture of classroom science. Given this, as educators, how do we make these borders more porous for better science learning experiences? Using the frameworks of funds of knowledge, culturally relevant pedagogy, and socio-constructivism, this study focuses on the perspectives of Somali-American elders and parents about school science. Designed as an in-depth interview study, five purposefully selected participants were interviewed over a period of two years. The guiding questions for the study included: 1) What are the perceptions of Somali elders about school science? and 2) How do Somali elders believe science teaching and learning can facilitate Somali students’ engagement in science? Analysis of the interview data revealed that Somali-American adults have complicated perceptions of school science that include both conflicts and acceptance with current pedagogy and content. For example, science education was highly valued by both individuals and the Somali community, both as a way for individuals to attain economic prosperity and respect, but also as a way to lift up the Somali diaspora, both here and in their native homeland. On the other hand, science was also viewed as an abstract discipline with little connection to students’ and families’ everyday home lives. Moreover, due to the intrinsic role that Islam plays in traditional and contemporary Somali culture, several areas of science education, including geology, evolution and sex education, were viewed as problematic and unresolvable. Various potential areas of funds of knowledge and culturally relevant pedagogy were discussed including nutrition, food preparation and storage, health education, and vaccinations. The study discusses several implications for science teachers of Somali-American students including the need to be aware of the intrinsic relationship between Islam, as practiced by Somali-Americans, and everyday practices, including the possibility of cultural violence resulting from the conflicts between science teaching as practiced in the United States, and Somali-American students’ beliefs. The study also discusses changes in pedagogy that are experienced by Somali-American families and students, and suggests ways to mitigate these differences. Finally, the study provides suggestions for the roles of science teachers, both in everyday teaching and learning and in their professional development practices, to make science more meaningful, accessible and engaging to Somali-American students and their families.

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