Episode 420: Antiracism in Medicine – Episode 28 – SGIM 2025: Immigrant and Refugee Health
The Clinical Problem Solvers
Understanding Healthcare for Immigrants and Refugees
This chapter delves into the biases healthcare providers may possess when treating immigrant and refugee patients, stressing the importance of empathy and cultural sensitivity. It discusses the challenges these populations face, such as language barriers and trauma, and advocates for a healthcare environment that prioritizes effective communication and trust-building. Moreover, it highlights the necessity of a diverse medical workforce and the significance of understanding patients' unique stories to enhance their overall health outcomes.
CPSolvers: Anti-Racism in Medicine Series
Episode 25 – Immigrant and Refugee Health: Live from SGIM 2025: Best of Antiracism Research at the Society of General Internal Medicine’s Annual Meeting
Show Notes by Alec J. Calac
September 15, 2025
Summary: This episode highlights a selection of antiracism research presentations at a live recording of the podcast at the 2025 Society for General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Annual Meeting. This year’s episode, our fifth conducted at SGIM, is focused on immigrant and refugee health. During this episode, we speak with experts Dr. Harita Shah, an internal medicine/pediatrics specialist at the University of Chicago who has conducted extensive community-engaged participatory research, Dr. Masha Slavin, an internist and Director of Primary Care for Bellevue’s Program for Survivors of Torture, and Dr. Sarah Kimball, an Associate Professor at Boston University Chobonian and Avedisian School of Medicine and Director of the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC) at Boston Medical Center. This episode is hosted by Asya Pitre and Ashley Cooper. The show notes for this episode were written by Alec Calac.
Important Note: This episode represents the views of the podcast participants and is not necessarily representative of the institutions at which they work and practice.
Episode Learning Objectives
After listening to this episode, learners will be able to…
- Understand how xenophobia and racism (at the interpersonal, institutional, and structural levels) impact the health experiences of immigrant and refugee populations.
- Evaluate how community-based participatory research plays a pivotal role in providing comprehensive care to immigrant and refugee populations.
- Identify critical points of intervention (including decreasing linguistic barriers, utilizing a trauma-informed approach, and promoting an inclusive environment) to bolster health outcomes amongst immigrant and refugee communities.
Credits
- Written and produced by: Ashley Cooper, MS, MPhil; Asya Pitre, DO; Alec Calac, PhD
- Hosts: Asya Pitre, Ashley Cooper
- Infographic: Ashley Cooper
- Audio Edits: Ashley Cooper
- Show Notes: Alec Calac
- Guests: Dr. Harita Shah, MD, Dr. Sarah Kimball, MD & Dr. Masha Slavin, MD
Speaker Biographies:
Dr. Masha Slavin, MD, is a primary care physician at Bellevue Hospital, a large public hospital in New York City, and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. In her role as the director of primary care for Bellevue’s Program for Survivors of Torture, she works with a multidisciplinary team of behavioral health, legal, and social work colleagues in caring for people who have experienced human rights violations. Her particular interests are in medical education on immigrant health, with the goal of improving clinicians’ comfort level in caring for this patient population and in improving workflows that facilitate care. She also enjoys working with medical students as an advisor to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Asylum Clinic.
Dr. Harita Shah, MD, is a med-peds primary care physician and an Assistant Professor in General Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago. Dr. Shah trained at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Urban Health Medicine-Pediatrics residency program. Her research focuses on the combination of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and implementation science to improve access to preventive care for underserved populations. She has directed 3 community-engaged public health campaigns, including most recently the PrEPárate campaign promoting access to PrEP among Latino/a/e sexual and gender minority individuals in Chicago (preparate.info). Her current research includes a community-driven project to understand best practices for serving Latinx populations, with a goal of informing health equity initiatives.
Dr. Sarah Kimball, MD, is a board-certified internist and is an Associate Professor at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. She completed her medical school training at Harvard University Medical School and did residency training in Internal Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Residency Program. Dr. Kimball has expertise in immigration-informed medical care, where she has helped to research and build health systems that are responsive to the needs of im/migrant patients. She is currently the Director of the Immigrant & Refugee Health Center (IRHC) at Boston Medical Center, a comprehensive medical home that addresses the barriers that immigrants face to being holistically healthy.
References
- Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture (PSOT). (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://www.survivorsoftorture.org/
- Doctors for Immigrants. (n.d.). Doctors for Immigrants. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://doctorsforimmigrants.com/
- Doctors for Immigrants. (n.d.). Our Work and Toolkit. Doctors for Immigrants. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://doctorsforimmigrants.com/ourwork/
- Hernandez, K. L. (2010). Migra!: A History of the U.S. Border Patrol. University of California Press.
- Immigrant and Refugee Health Center. (n.d.). Boston Medical Center. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://www.bmc.org/immigrant-refugee-health-center
- Radl-Karimi, C., Nielsen, D. S., Sodemann, M., Batalden, P., & von Plessen, C. (2022). “When I feel safe, I dare to open up”: Immigrant and refugee patients’ experiences with coproducing healthcare. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(7), 2338–2345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.11.009
- Shah, H. S., Serrano, P. A., Rodriguez-Diaz, C. E., Page, K. R., Ross, J., Wilson, S. M., & Cantos, V. D. (2025). Not a Monolith: Regional HIV Implementation Science Lessons With Latino/a/x Populations. JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 98(5 Suppl), e98–e103. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000003611
- The PrEPárate Campaign. (n.d.). PrEP for You & Me. The PrEPárate Campaign. Retrieved August 1, 2025, from https://www.preparate.info/
Disclosures
The hosts and guests report no relevant financial disclosures.
Citation
Kimball S, Shah H, Slavin M, Pitre A, Cooper A, Krishnamurthy S, Calac A. “Episode 28: Live from SGIM 2025: Best of Antiracism Research at the Society of General Internal Medicine’s 2025 Annual Meeting” The Clinical Problem Solvers Podcast – Antiracism in Medicine Series. https://clinicalproblemsolving.com/antiracism-in-medicine/. September 15, 2025.
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