Multidimensional Dynamics of Refugee Inclusion: A Case of African Refugees in the US South

Although migration and health literature has widely addressed resettlement challenges among refugees in the United States, most studies emphasize individual and behavioral challenges, with little attention to the structural and contextual factors that affect refugee well‐being and inclusion. A comprehensive understanding of barriers and facilitators encountered by refugee subpopulations in a cross‐cultural context from multiple perspectives is essential to developing tailored programs and services that ease refugee transition and help foster refugee inclusion in new spaces. Using the perspectives of African refugee populations and stakeholders in the Southern US, we highlight the barriers to and facilitators of refugee resettlement across multiple nested systems at the individual, interpersonal, community, societal, and policy levels and examine how they shape refugee inclusion. Drawing from a larger mixed‐methods study that used a community‐based participatory research approach, we use qualitative data from focus group discussions with resettled African refugee members ( n  = 11) and local stakeholders ( n  = 13) to understand multilevel barriers and facilitators to refugee inclusion. Data analysis first followed a rigorous and accelerated data reduction (RADaR) technique, and then proceeded with thematic coding and analysis. Findings provide insights into how policy and practices can include these new and valuable members of American society. Our study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of refugee resettlement and inclusion efforts, both of which are crucial tasks for maintaining cohesive societies.