Abstract

The global refugee crisis has reached epic proportions. Statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2016) reported that in 2015 a record 65.3 million people worldwide, or 39,976 people per day, were displaced, either within their native countries or as asylees and refugees. Afghanistan, from 1980-2014, was the country with the largest number of outgoing refugees and it now ranks third in the world. At the opposite end of the continuum the United States remains the primary host country for refugees, asylees, and resettled refugees from all countries, including Afghanistan. The refugee experience is fraught with challenges from life in the native country to the decision to leave to the resettlement process in the US. The author has had a longstanding interest in Afghanistan and the Afghan refugees. Understanding the lived experience of the women refugees is important for nurses and other healthcare professionals who will eventually care for the women. This study used a phenomenological approach to make sense of and find meaning in this experience. The study also used the intersectionality feminist theory to explore ways in which the Afghan women refugees may be marginalized in the US. The women have demonstrated resilience and strength in coping with this traumatic life event and their stories deserve to be heard.

Author Details

Brenda Brown, DNS, RN

Sigma Membership

Tau Psi at-Large

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Phenomenology

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Refugees, Afghanistan, Traumatic Life Events, Resilience

Advisor

Mary de Chesnay

Second Advisor

Camilla Payne

Third Advisor

Stacey Keltner

Degree

Doctoral-Other

Degree Grantor

Kennesaw State University

Degree Year

2018

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2023-10-26

Full Text of Presentation

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