A theoretical framework for using health realization to reduce stress and improve coping in refugee communities.

Refugees have faced extraordinarily stressful situations in their past, and many continue to experience stress daily as they cope with the refugee adjustment experience. A strengths-based, community-focused intervention known as Health Realization (HR) is a promising strategy for nurses to promote positive psychological outcomes in these populations. Although similar in some ways to cognitive therapy, the HR intervention emphasizes the role of thought versus the content of thought.