asylum seekers health

BACKGROUND: Limited evidence on utilisation of health care by recently arrived asylum seekers and refugees in high-income countries is available. This study aims to describe the implementation of an integrated care facility (ICF) in an initial reception centre and measure the utilisation of care and the influence of operational parameters. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study design, using medical records, we followed inhabitants of a reception centre in Germany between 11...

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization's (WHO) Immunization Agenda 2030 emphasises ensuring equitable access to vaccination across the life course. This includes placing an emphasis on migrant populations who may have missed key childhood vaccines, doses, and boosters due to disrupted healthcare systems and the migration process, or differing vaccination schedules in home countries. Guidelines exist in the UK for offering catch-up vaccinations to adolscent and adult migrants with incomplete or uncertain vaccination status (including MMR, Td-IPV, MenACWY, HPV), but emerging evidence suggests awareness and implementation in primary care is poor...

BACKGROUND: Global forced displacement has been rising steeply since 2015 as a result of wars and human rights abuses. Forcibly displaced people are often exposed to physical and mental strain, which can cause traumatic experiences and poor mental health. Physical activity has been linked with better mental health, although such evidence is scarce among those populations. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships of self-reported physical activity and fitness with mental health indices among people residing in a refugee camp in Greece as asylum seekers...

People from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds resettling in Australia often experience intersecting risks for poor mental and physical health. Physical activity can promote better health outcomes, however there are limited programs tailored for this population. Therefore, understanding how to support refugees and asylum seekers to engage in physical activity is crucial. This paper aims to describe how the experience-based co-design (EBCD) process was used to identify priorities for a new physical activity service for refugees and asylum seekers...

Objectives Asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) encounter barriers when accessing oral health care (OHC). A qualitative systematic review was conducted to understand the perceptions, attitudes, behaviours and experiences of ASRs regarding their OHC. Themes were extracted to identify the barriers and facilitators ASRs face when accessing OHC.Data sources PubMed, APA PsycInfo, Cochrane Database, Web of Science and CINAHL were searched on 4 and 5 October 2022.Data selection Primary studies including ASRs of any age or nationality were included...

Migrant mental health is a pressing public health issue with wide-ranging implications. Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted in this population to assess the effects of psychosocial interventions. However, the available evidence is characterized by controversy and fragmentation, with studies focusing on different migrant populations, interventions, outcomes, delivery modalities and settings. Aiming to promote systematic reviews of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in different migrant groups, we have developed a living database of existing RCTs...

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies in refugee settings are often challenged by the denominator problem, i.e. lack of population at risk data. We develop an empirical approach to address this problem by assessing relationships between occupancy data in refugee centres, number of refugee patients in walk-in clinics, and diseases of the digestive system. METHODS: Individual-level patient data from a primary care surveillance system (PriCarenet) was matched with occupancy data retrieved from immigration authorities...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Global conflicts and humanitarian crises led to an increase in forced migration to Germany in recent years. To improve the mental health care system for refugees and asylum seekers in Germany perspectively, we aim to examine the feasibility of implementing the culturally sensitive group psychotherapy Empowerment for refugees with affective disorders in a video-assisted setting. METHODS: Empowerment is a culturally sensitive, interpreter-assisted intervention for the treatment of depressive and stress-related symptoms in refugees...

Forcibly displaced Muslims, including refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers who have fled their homes to escape violence, conflict, and persecution, often have inequitable access to quality mental health services, despite substantial trauma exposure and high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Understanding factors associated with domains of perceived need (i.e., community, individual, friends/family) for culturally-responsive, trauma-focused mental health interventions among forcibly displaced Muslims may provide insight into those most likely to seek psychological treatment...

ABSTRACT Background: Feasibility studies with non-French speaking migrants in France are needed to inform appropriate adaptation of psychosocial intervention procedures. Objective: To test the WHO Problem Management Plus (PM+) intervention protocol for Arabic-speaking migrants in the Paris metropolitan region. Methods: Between 2019 and 2021 we recruited participants from three accommodation centres receiving asylum seekers or migrants experiencing social and economic difficulties. Participants experiencing psychological distress underwent five PM + sessions with trained helpers...

BACKGROUND: Immigrants are exposed to numerous risk factors that may contribute to the development of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Recent political and environmental crises in North Africa and the Middle East have led to an increase in immigration to Europe that has challenged the healthcare system and especially the management of chronic conditions. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this scoping review are to investigate the burden, prevalence, and associated factors of chronic musculoskeletal pain in immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East in Europe during the last decade...

BACKGROUND: In 2022 the total world migrant population was 281 million (an increase of approximately 62% compared to year 2000), of whom 169 million were migrant workers. The number of refugees, asylum seekers and others in need of international protection increased by 22% compared to 2021. Research has shown that the forcibly displaced have high rates of mental disorders (including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety), with an estimated prevalence almost 6 to 7 times higher than the general population...

Forensic evaluators may have little experience and knowledge of the political context of Myanmar, the Burmese people, and the refugee crisis. Oppression of several ethnic minority groups has marked Burmese military rule of Myanmar for several decades. Protracted trauma exposure, both pre- and post-migration, among refugee populations increases the risk for mental health disorders, particularly depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, and posttraumatic stress disorder. These experiences may result in anger and psychiatric manifestations that bring Burmese refugees in conflict with the law in their host country...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

INTRODUCTION: The recent surge in migration to and within the European Union and European Economic Area has brought the development of migration policy, including health policy, to the forefront of regional priorities. While migrants, in general, do not pose a health threat to the host population, specific subgroups of migrants, including refugees, asylum seekers, and irregular migrants, are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases. To support public health policies in this area, the Emergency Preparedness and Management' working group of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health has conducted a systematic narrative review with the aim to comprehensively analyze the infectious disease risk within the refugee and asylum seeker populations in EU, EEA, and EU-applicant countries...

BACKGROUND: Migrants and refugees/asylum seekers, as a large part of the European work force, are often confronted with unfavorable working conditions in the host country. Main aim of this systematic review was to compare the association of these working conditions with mental health between migrants and refugees/asylum seekers due to their diverse migration experiences and cultural origins, and between different European host countries. METHODS: Systematic search for eligible primary studies was conducted in three electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL) using quantitative study designs written in English, German, French, Italian, Polish, Spanish or Turkish and published from January 1, 2016 to October 27, 2022...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has made visible the scale of health disparities in society, highlighting how the distribution of infection and deaths differs between population subgroups within countries. Asylum seekers represent a potentially vulnerable group; early in the pandemic, concerns were raised about their housing situation, usually involving overcrowded, camp-like accommodations, and the effects of COVID-19 in relation to this. Hence, this study aimed to explore asylum seekers' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic while living at accommodation centers...

Given the current political and climate crisis, the number of forcedly displaced individuals continues to rise, posing new challenges to host societies aiming to support and respond to the needs of those fleeing war or persecution. In this article, we turn our attention to current and historical sociopolitical contexts influencing the mental health of forcedly displaced children (ie, refugee, asylum-seeking, and undocumented) during their resettlement in high-income countries, proposing timely ways to respond to evolving needs and recommendations to redress ubiquitous structural inequities that act as barriers to education and care for the children, youth, and families seeking sanctuary...

Newly arriving asylum seekers in Germany mostly live in large reception centres, depending on professionals in most aspects of their daily lives. The legal basis for the provision of goods and services allows for discretionary decisions. Given the potential impact of social categorisation on professionals' decisions, and ultimately access to health and social services, we explore the categories used by professionals. We ask of what nature these categorisations are, and weather they align with the public discourse on forced migration...