Health meetup groups empower mothers
An elder arrives just before the pandemic
Gadise moved to the United States from Ethiopia in 2019. She made friends with some of the other elders in her community but when the COVID-19 pandemic came she couldn’t go to church, so she lost touch with people. She enjoys spending time with her children but doesn’t have much contact with people her age.
The challenge
The first time Gadise went to a doctor was when she was 62 years old for the medical screening that is required for refugees before they come to the U.S. The only thing she remembers from the experience was that they told her she was healthy enough to travel. She hadn’t thought about making more health appointments in the U.S. because she felt healthy. However, preventative care is very important for people her age, so doctors can catch problems like cancer or hypertension before they cause serious health complications.
A meetup group connects mothers to community and health
Gadise saw a flyer at the East African market for a meetup group at a local community center for refugee mothers. The group was going to learn about eating healthy, which interested Gadise.
The meetup was led by Community Health Workers who were also from Ethiopia. She learned about nutrition and met other people her age. In later sessions she learned about the importance of mammograms and other screenings.
Gadise decided to get the screenings done because of the advice from the Community Health Workers. When the clinic didn’t have an interpreter, she stood up for herself because the meetup groups taught her about her rights.
She told others about what she learned at the meetups and encouraged them to go to the doctor for screenings, too. Her neighbor agreed, and found out she had a heart problem that the doctor was able to address with medication.
MHI Toolkits Support Equitable Healthcare Access
MHI partnered with the Refugee Women’s Network and IDEO.org to create a free, customizable toolkit that equips organizations to create health meetup groups for mothers. It helps mothers to learn about health topics at the same time that they build community and social support. Without this resource, people like Gadise would be less able to access healthcare services that they need, leading to greater health problems later on. It empowers mothers to not only help themselves, but to help others in their community.