The National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) was established in October 2020 to support health departments and community organizations working with refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID -19. NRC-RIM is funded by the CDC and housed at the University of Minnesota.
Since we were established, we have shared best practices and information with organizations and people all over the country and world. Our impact is summarized by the information included on this page, which was last updated Sept. 30, 2022.
We collect and curate best and promising practices from across the country so professionals and organizations learn from each other. We have these organized into several toolkits
Best and promising practices can provide important insights into what are the most effective strategies for enhancing the health related outcomes of individuals and communities, and what these strategies look like when put into practice in a variety of different situations, settings, and contexts.
These were informed by more than 103 interviews with public health professionals, health care providers, and community leaders, which helped us better understand different models and strategies being used across the country.
"Learning about best practices from the other offices in the project has allowed us to implement new strategies quickly and with the knowledge that they have already been vetted for success."
NRC-RIM works to develop and disseminate linguistically and culturally appropriate health communications and health education resources for RIM communities. Our growing collection includes campaigns, videos, and a translated materials library featuring materials in multiple languages.
"Without NRC-RIM’s resources it would have taken us weeks to translate everything to our needed language, hampering and delaying our educational efforts."
Videos
We have 764 uploads in more than 40 languages on our Youtube channel which has 156 subscribers. Our top videos are featured on our website
Translated Materials Library
Our Translated Materials Library includes more than 8000 materials in 196 languages, curated from public health departments and other agencies across the country.
Campaigns
Our vaccine education and contract tracing campaigns are pre-translated in more than 40 languages and include drag-and-drop templates so anyone can easily customize our campaigns for their local context.
Participants who demonstrated increased knowledge on the topic
“I gained a better understanding of social and structural determinants and how I can play a role in closing the gap of implicit and explicit biases that hinder RIM communities from proper education and health related knowledge.”
Participants who plan to apply what they learned in their work
We collaborate with our partners to offer technical assistance that meets the needs of local health departments and others. We strengthen connections and information sharing between community-based organizations and health departments, and share practical lessons-learned with those that are facing challenges.
"We’ve gotten the tools, resources and support we need to research, develop and disseminate information and educational materials that will go out to our refugee communities in Dallas and beyond."
Training
Connections
Best Practices
Campaign Strategy
We partner with NACCHO on pilot projects where health departments and CBOs collaboratively design, implement, and evaluate innovative and sustainable approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic in RIM communities.
“This partnership with the University of Minnesota’s NRC-RIM provides refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities and local health departments the resources they need to build and sustain the kinds of relationships and connections that result in strong public health.”
On the Ground
We work with our partners, like the International Rescue Committee and Migrant Clinicians Network, to implement innovative practices in direct service to RIM communities. Some activities they are involved in include:
- Designing and distributing vaccine campaign materials
- Organizing vaccine clinics
- Canvassing neighborhoods
- Hosting vaccine education events
- Supporting people in RIM communities during quarantine
- Facilitating COVID-19 testing
Printing Mini-Grants
We know that common barriers to using our vaccine campaign materials are time and cost. As part of our dissemination strategy, NRC-RIM developed a Printing Mini-grant program that allows local health departments, community organizations, and other small nonprofits to request printed materials from NRC-RIM. To date, we have fulfilled 25 organizations' printing needs.
"We continue to really value this resource—our team reports that it provides a great open door for them to have conversations with individuals, and we still see vaccinations occurring as a result."
Traditional Media
NRC-RIM experts have interviewed with national media outlets like the New York Times, Politifact and Kaiser Health News. Some media mentions include:
Conferences and Presentations
NRC-RIM held several sessions at the 2021 and 2022 North American Refugee Health Conference (NARHC). In 2022, NRC-RIM also sponsored a new track for the conference focused on COVID-19 public health.
The NRC-RIM team has been guest speakers at more than 40 online events hosted by other organizations, including events hosted by the CDC and the White House
NRC-RIM presented three sessions at the 2022 Preparedness Summit on health communications and public health preparedness in support of refugee, immigrant and migrant communities.