Editor’s Note: This story is part three of WDET’s Nargis Rahman’s new four-part series, dubbed “Shustho: Mind, Body, and Spirit,” and explores the health care and access to health care among women in Bangladeshi.
The health unit at Davison Avenue (Huda Clinic) in Detroit is Wayne County’s largest free health care clinic. We serve uninsured patients and support approximately 5,000 patients each year.
Joan Harrison, a nurse practitioner, says that about 30% of HUDA patients are women from Bangladeshi. She says there is a lot of struggle between mental health and chronic illness due to lack of access to regular care.
“Hypertension and diabetes have issues. We see a variety of issues, and it has to do with either knowing how to manage the issue or not having the resources to manage it,” she said.
In that care, Harrison says that women in Bangladeshi are more open to female healthcare providers.
“I think they’re more open to talking to us. Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily the case that female providers or female translators are available, but when someone is there, they feel they have more freedom to talk to us,” she explained.
The clinic also provides interpreters and translated educational materials.
Harrison, a black man, said she is learning more about Bangladeshi culture about food and family values to better serve her patients. “I’m constantly learning how to help them, especially women.
Dr. Nasita Mora is an American doctor in Bangladeshi who volunteers at the Huda Clinic. Part of her care is educating women in Bangladeshi about preventive care.
“In Bangladesh, cancer screening is not that common, so patients do not have PCPs who undergo continuous colonoscopy every 10 years.
Mora said that increasing number of female Bangladeshi doctors and healthcare providers could improve the care of female Bangladeshi patients.
“If I’m not there, or if you know, there’s no other female Bengali provider there or they won’t be open like any other provider.
Mora said there is a need for more free clinics and educational materials in Bengali, including information videos on diabetes and hypertension that ramps among Bangladesh.
“I think another Bengali woman is saying, “We have to cut down on how much they are eating, we need to cut down on fried foods.”
Some of the patients who served at the HUDA clinics, some Bangladeshi women end up in emergency rooms for primary care because they do not have proper insurance.
Dr. Farjana Alam is an emergency medical doctor who works in several hospitals in the Detroit capital region.
She says socioeconomic barriers contribute to these challenges.
“Our people are in high poverty. We’ve seen high education and that is effective in all health literacy gaps, leading to a preference for chronic disease issues and overall, not as well as others’ health outcomes,” she said.
Alam grew up helping immigrant parents navigate the health care system. As a result, she said she understands firsthand how limited resources can affect her health.
Factors such as social determinants of health, limited English proficiency, inadequate insurance and needing transportation help can make a big difference in health outcomes, she said.
“It is not possible to compare people like white women in their families who have all the resources of the world. So that we can’t compare these health outcomes,” she said.
Despite these barriers, Alam said that Bangladeshi women in Metro Detroit are empowering themselves by learning English, learning how to drive, helping children achieve better health outcomes.
Read more about this series:
