Researching an Iraqi Community in the Midst of the U. S.-Iraq War: The Researcher as Clinician

摘要

Nationality groups are always placed in a sensitive position when strained relations develop between their country of adoption and their homeland, as occurred in Iraqi and other Arab-American communities during the Gulf War. The author was directing a research project on aged members of these communities when hostilities broke out. The war had profound effects, both on the conduct of the research project and on the community itself, causing the research to be restructured and project staff to assume clinical as well as research roles. Staff members assisted community members in dealing with their concerns relative to the war and their future in the U.S. While the project focused primarily on the needs of elderly Arabs, a secondary topic became the possible long range effects of the war on the communities.