WE-HEAL
CGHSR’s Women’s Empowerment through Health Education for Adolescent Leaders (WE-HEAL) project aims to address inequities in women’s healthcare among Somali, Latin American, and Ethiopian communities while also inspiring youth to pursue careers in the medical profession.
Minnesota is home to a growing number of Somali, Latin American, and Ethiopian immigrants. These communities face challenges accessing the health care system, including language barriers and a lack of culturally competent care.
Youth from these communities often act as translators and interpreters for their families in addition to taking on additional responsibilities related to navigating U.S. health care and social service systems.
By focusing on the unique role that youth play as cultural brokers and exploring ways to support them, the WE-HEAL project will help reduce healthcare barriers for immigrant communities. In the long term, this initiative seeks to inspire and support youth in pursuing health care careers, ultimately contributing to a more diverse and inclusive health care workforce in Minnesota.
“This is an opportunity to not only better understand what barriers immigrant families face in accessing health care, but also an opportunity to support immigrant youth in pursuing careers in the medical field to create a more diverse, and therefore effective, healthcare workforce.”
Global Women’s Health Initiative Director Rahel Nardos, MD, MCR