Cultural Expressions of Intergenerational Trauma and Mental Health Nursing Implications for U.S. Health Care Delivery Following Refugee Resettlement

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this integrative review of the literature is to examine cultural expressions of intergenerational trauma among refugees following resettlement, and to determine culturally sensitive mental health care practice implications for health care practitioners working in U.S. health care delivery. Methodology: Data were collected utilizing a comprehensive computer-assisted search in CINAHL and PsychARTICLES/ProQuest from 2003 to 2013 of full text, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles, published in English. Eight articles met selection criteria and were analyzed using Gadamer’s philosophical interpretation of play, symbolism, and festival in The Relevance of the Beautiful. Results: Six recurrent themes were identified important to refugee health care delivery: silence, communication, adaptation, relationship, remembering, and national redress. Implications for Practice: Practitioners need to consider cultural influences of intergenerational trauma in processing grief related to loss and how artistic modes of expression are experienced, both individually and communally, in refugee health care delivery.