Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Anthropology
Major Professor
Dillon Mahoney, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Nancy Romero-Daza, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Daniel Lende, Ph.D.
Keywords
Applied Anthropology, Mental Health Care, State Neglect, Domestic Abuse, Gender, US Refugee Resettlement
Abstract
An estimated 500 Central African refugee families have been resettled in the Tampa Bay Area since 2002 (RPC, 2022). The cycles of trauma that they have endured place them in vulnerable positions regarding their mental health. Struggling to exist within underfunded social programs that are rigid in their expectations and with the current system of reactive care vs preventative care, the refugees in Tampa are put in a difficult situation of navigating their own health and wellbeing in lieu of having the full support of the United States government and their community. I will discuss how these refugees experience and negotiate mental health care during resettlement – including an evaluation of the programs that currently “exist”. Furthermore, I will discuss a case study that represents a stark example of how the current refugee resettlement structure within Tampa can allow for critical situations to become deadly. This critical situation was a result of neglect and evolved from a few simple issues that could have easily been resolved, and into a true crisis which resulted in numerous arrests, a teenager idolizing and attempting suicide, and domestic abuse. Utilizing focus groups, fictionalized vignettes, and participant observation, culturally appropriate mental health care methods will be discussed for future resettlement needs.
Scholar Commons Citation
Ruszczyk, C. Danee, "“I’m Still Suffering”: Mental Health Care Among Central African Refugee Populations in the Tampa Bay Area" (2023). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10000
