Women’s Resilience Center
Learn in this promising practice how the Women’s Resilience Center (WRC) in San Diego, established by the IRC, supports Afghan… Read More »Women’s Resilience Center
Women's Health
“Dialogue with Doctors” Series Empowering Afghan Women
IRC in San Diego focuses on Afghan women’s physical and emotional well-being by hosting a series of Q&A sessions called… Read More »“Dialogue with Doctors” Series Empowering Afghan Women
Women’s Wellness
In a series of videos created in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), newly arrived Afghan women can learn about women’s wellness exams in the United States, including why they are important, what to expect, and key tips like asking for an interpreter.
We know that trusted messengers are valuable resources to Afghan families as they consider their healthcare options. Organizations and community health workers wishing to host their own health education workshops may do so with translated and customizable PowerPoint slides, Google Slides, Canva slides, and speaking notes.
A second version of the materials are available for Afghan men, who are often involved in healthcare decisions with their wives or female family members. This version of our materials has been culturally validated to ensure relevance to this audience.
Videos
Women’s Wellness: Introduction
For women:
For men:
Women’s Wellness: Patient Rights in the U.S.
For women:
For men:
What Happens During a Women’s Wellness Exam
For women:
For men:
Workshop Materials
Introduction to the Women’s Wellness Exam
This session provides an overview of the women’s wellness exam, emphasizing its significance in early disease detection and management. It introduces various healthcare providers like OB-GYNs and nurse practitioners, explaining their roles in conducting these exams.
Learning Objectives:
- Women’s Wellness exams
- Recognize the appropriate age to start regular wellness exams
- Identify different healthcare providers who conduct wellness exams and understand their respective roles.
- Gain insight into the broader series, including patient health rights in the U.S. and what to expect during a wellness exam
For Women
Video
Google Slides
Canva
PowerPoint
For Men
Video
Google Slides
Canva
PowerPoint
Women’s Wellness: Patient Rights in the U.S.
This session explores patient rights in the U.S. healthcare system, focusing on dignity, non-discrimination, privacy, and the use of interpreters. It emphasizes the right to privacy, the need for medical confidentiality, and the ability to request female providers and interpreters.
Learning Objectives:
- respect, regardless of race, sex, or origin.
- Recognize the importance of privacy in healthcare and the procedures for consenting to share medical information.
- Learn about the availability and right to use medical interpreters and the importance of understanding medical procedures.
For Women
Video
Google Slides
Canva
PowerPoint
For Men
Video
Google Slides
Canva
PowerPoint
Women’s Wellness: Understanding What Happens During a Wellness Exam
This session details the process of a women’s wellness exam in the U.S., covering steps from initial check-in and history taking to specific procedures like breast and pelvic exams, and Pap tests. It emphasizes the importance of these exams in early detection and management of health concerns and encourages open communication with healthcare providers.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about the common components of a wellness exam, including vital signs assessment, pelvic and breast exams, and Pap test.
- Understand the process of a wellness exam, from check-in to discussing results and next steps.
- Identify different healthcare providers who conduct wellness exams and understand their respective roles.
- Gain insight into the broader series, including patient
- Recognize the importance of communicating openly with healthcare providers and feeling comfortable during the exam.
For Women
Video
Google Slides
Canva
PowerPoint
For Men
Video
Google Slides
Canva
PowerPoint
Culturally Responsive Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Care
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Orienting Afghan Newcomers to Prenatal Care and Delivery in the United States
Discover how to overcome the challenges faced by Afghan refugee mothers in accessing prenatal care in the United States. Initiatives… Read More »Orienting Afghan Newcomers to Prenatal Care and Delivery in the United States
Sexual and Reproductive Health Toolkit
Good reproductive health is not only vital for successful and healthy livelihood, it is also a human right. Poor reproductive health has been linked to other diseases and illnesses including mental health needs.
To maintain one’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) people need access to accurate information that empowers them to make informed decisions regarding their body and to protect themselves from any diseases or infections.
Discover how you can support the sexual and reproductive health of Afghan newcomers with this toolkit, created in partnership with the International Rescue Committee.
Contraception Options Videos
In collaboration with the International Rescue Committee, we are introducing informative videos on contraceptive options explicitly tailored for Afghan newcomers. We aim to provide clear, culturally sensitive information to help individuals make informed decisions about their reproductive health.
As part of our comprehensive SRH Toolkit, these videos are available in:
Long-Acting Methods
Short-Acting Methods
Barrier and Natural Methods
Women’s Wellness Workshops
About Women’s Wellness:
Encourage Afghan women to take an active role in preventative healthcare visits by requesting an interpreter, asking questions, and preparing them for what to expect.
Afghan men are often involved in healthcare decisions with their wives or female family members. A separate version of our workshop materials has been culturally validated to ensure relevance to this audience.
Guides
Sexual and Reproductive Health Glossary
The purpose of this Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Glossary is to provide a standardized reference tool of SRH terms, translated from English into Dari and Pashto, that have been culturally validated and reviewed by a group of Afghan subject matter experts.
It includes words and definitions in English that serve as a reference to ensure cross-cultural understanding of the terminology, as well as colloquial expressions in Dari and Pashto to complement medical terminology.
The glossary is intended for use by interpretation and translation companies, public health departments, and medical providers to help ensure consistent, culturally and linguistically appropriate translations of sexual and reproductive health terms.
Birth Control Methods Chart
In the U.S., birth control options usually focus on efficacy, but some people have different priorities when it comes to choosing contraception, for example, its effect on menstruation or even how discrete it is.
Our friends at the Reproductive Health National Training Center (RHNTC) created chart explaining birth control options at-a-glance. The chart covers efficacy, frequency of use, menstrual side effects, and other considerations.
RHNTC recommends providers use this chart in discussing contraceptives and pairing it with counseling about STIs.
Other SRH Resources
Promising Practices
Mothers x Mothers
In the fall of 2021, as COVID-19 vaccines first became available for younger children, we heard the importance of addressing vaccine-related fears for mothers and caregivers. Working in partnership with IDEO.org and Refugee Women’s Network (RWN), we created Mothers x Mothers, a peer health meetup hosted by mothers, for mothers to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine.
The resulting toolkit helped organizations host peer gatherings where mothers could gather in community to discuss relevant health topics. The elements of the toolkit are informed and tested by mothers’ experiences, and create the conditions to have a judgement-free health conversations among mothers.
Created By Mothers, For Mothers
This work was sparked by the insight that mothers often have strong influence on health decisions that affect the whole household. We realized that helping mothers access reliable information about the vaccine could have a massive impact.
In addition to guidance from RWN leadership, we collaborated with four women co-designers from the Somali and Eritrean communities in Clarkston, who planned and facilitated the first-ever Mothers x Mothers gathering. As co-designers they worked with us from design to implementation to evaluation, and the their professional development was specifically included among the initiative’s goals.
The Power of Health Meetups
At the heart of the work we found a need for a safe space to ask difficult questions, and seek guidance to navigate the uncertainties of the pandemic.
Meetups are informal gatherings of people with shared interests or identities. Mothers x Mothers is a community health meetup for mothers to connect with each other and talk about key health issues facing their families, starting with the COVID-19 vaccine. It is a time for mothers to:
Campaign Elements
Plan
The planner consists of a set of checklists that any organization can use to spark thinking and account for the logistics ahead of hosting a meetup.
Promote
Create digital or print invites tailored to the communities you are serving. Fun and friendly, they serve as a first look into the meetup.
Prepare
This guide provides an a detailed look at the pre-meetup activities, instructions and facilitation tips for the meetup presentation slides, and how to conduct a post-meetup interview.
Present
The slides include speaking notes, and there is also an agenda, sign-in sheet, and other downloads to make your event successful. Follow-up with mothers with WhatsApp scripts, videos, flyers and more.
Available languages
In the spirit of equipping communities to host their own meetups, the WhatsApp scripts, promotional materials, presentation slides, concern cards, and other resources were translated and culturally validated in English and 16 high-priority languages.
Impact
“The program built enough community trust to make future interventions possible, as evidenced by the continuing Mothers x Mothers gatherings that focus on health topics beyond COVID-19.”
-Frontiers in Public Health
During the initial pilot, which included 8 gatherings with 7 distinct linguistic and ethnic groups, 75% of unvaccinated participants decided to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Since its launch in the spring of 2022, the tools have been adapted and launched by Restoration for All, Congolese Patriot, Birth in Color, Afghan Health Initiative, the Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC). These organizations all expanded the meetup from only being about COVID-19 vaccine confidence to a space where women can speak about important health topics sourced from the community.
Mothers x Mothers was featured in a 2024 Frontiers in Public Health article titled “It spreads like wildfire”: mothers’ gatherings for vaccine acceptance.
Topics Sourced from the Community
Restoration for All, Birth in Color, and Congolese Patriot all expanded the MxM gathering from only being about COVID-19 vaccine confidence to a space where women can speak about important health topics sourced from the community, like OBGYN visits.
Train the Trainee Approach
Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resources Center (EMBARC) is using a ‘train-the-trainer’ model to support mothers in Iowa to hold MxM gatherings, with the aim of training 200 facilitators.
Actively Creating a Safe Space
Various partners highlighted the importance of actively creating psychological safety at the beginning of a gathering. To this end, Restoration for All combined the gathering with a cultural healing circle.
Bringing MxM to Community Celebrations
Some organizations chose days that already call for celebrations to host Mothers x Mothers gatherings. Afghan Health Initiative hosted a gathering alongside a Ramadan Feast, Congolese Patriot held a Valentine’s Day event, and Restoration For All chose Mother’s Day for one of their gatherings.