Research & Development

Defining Research Priorities on the Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

The Research and Development Committee is asking you to take part in a research study because we are trying to develop research priorities on the health of refugees and asylum seekers in the United States. Please complete the survey below and circulate it to other experts and stakeholders in asylum and refugee health! Survey: http://redcap.link/2rlcbex6

Recent PHR-Related Publications in Human Rights Research

Reynolds et al 2024 - Epidemiology of asylum seekers and refugees at the Mexico-US border: a cross-sectional analysis from the migrant settlement camp in Matamoros, Mexico

• Authored by former SAB Research and Development Committee Members!

• Authors conducted a cross-sectional study of electronic medical data collected from patient encounters in a US-Mexico border migrant settlement from 2019 to 2021 in order to determine the medical diagnoses and treatments of migrating people seeking care. The findings of this study characterize a variety of clinical conditions present in the migrant encampment during a period of highly restrictive US immigration policy, highlighting the need for further research on the impact of this policy on health outcomes for migrating people.

Saadi et al 2024 - Head Injury and Associated Sequelae in Individuals Seeking Asylum in the United States: A Retrospective Mixed-Methods Review of Medico-Legal Affidavits

•  Authors sampled asylum affidavits from the PHR database to characterize the documentation of the occurrence, characteristics, and sequelae of head injury among people seeking asylum in the US. This study finds the prevalence of documented head injury in asylum affidavits to be approximately 40%, and authors highlight the significant room for improvement in the assessment of head injury, including the need for enhanced standardization and training. 

PHR Student-Led Project Presentation at the Michigan Journal of Medicine Annual Conference:

Reynolds et al 2024 - Determinants for the humanitarian workforce in migrant health at the US-Mexico border: optimizing learning from health professionals in Matamoros and Reynosa, Mexico

About Us

2025-2026 Research and Development Committee Mission Statement: To develop accessible human rights research infrastructure, to empower and celebrate student human rights research endeavors, and to set an example of research leadership within and beyond the SAB.

2025-26 Goals

1. Investigation of how extra-academic pressures shape provider behavior and dynamics in student-run asylum clinics

Action Plan:

• Qualitative exploration: Conduct semi-structured interviews and focus groups with student and faculty providers across multiple student-run asylum clinics to identify the extra-academic pressures they perceive that impact their clinic (eg, legal risk, institutional policies, credentialing requirements, funding constraints, and political/media climates).

• Framework analysis: Use thematic coding to map how these forces shape provider behavior and dynamics (supervision, documentation standards, case triage, role boundaries, advocacy stance).

• Cross-site comparison: Apply the analytic framework across several student-run asylum clinics to assess common patterns and site-specific differences in how extra-academic pressures manifest.

• Scholarly output and advocacy: Develop a manuscript or policy brief describing findings, with recommendations for mitigating harmful pressures and strengthening clinic sustainability, accountability, and equity.

2. A scoping review of translation resources in pharmacies and other ancillary care settings, focusing on modes used, implementation barriers/facilitators, and impacts on medication safety, adherence, and patient experience

Action Plan:

• Systematic literature search: Conduct a structured review of peer-reviewed literature on translation and interpretation resources in ancillary health service settings, with a primary focus on community pharmacies.

• Thematic synthesis: Extract and code data on modes of language access (eg, professional interpreters, bilingual staff, telephonic/video interpretation, translated prescription labels/inserts, digital tools), along with reported implementation barriers and facilitators.

• Impact assessment: Summarize evidence on how translation resources affect patient outcomes such as medication safety, adherence, comprehension, and satisfaction, as well as workflow and cost implications for providers.

• Scholarly output and dissemination: Prepare a manuscript or scoping review report detailing findings and implications, with recommendations for improving language access in pharmacy and other ancillary care settings. 

Committee Members

Interested in contacting the Research and Development committee? Email sab@phrstudents.org for contact information.