Assessing asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants

A Whole-child, whole-family approach to health assessments for asylum-seeking children

In 2020, 21% of people who sought asylum in the UK were children. This population has complex interconnecting health and social needs. Assessment requires a holistic approach, with consideration of physical and mental health in addition to social and developmental well-being, within the whole family group. A trauma-informed life-cycle and intergenerational care approach is important. This article, aimed at all health professionals who may work with asylum-seeking families, outlines the best practice principles for undertaking health assessments in migrant children and young people.

The mass release of migrants from UK immigration detention during the COVID-19 pandemic: what can be learned?

Convincing international evidence demonstrates that immigration detention adversely affects mental health. During the COVID-19 outbreak, additional concerns were raised about the safety and appropriateness of immigration detention. Consequently, several hundred migrants were released en masse from UK immigration detention centres, and few new detentions took place. Over 70% fewer migrants were held in detention centres in June 2020 compared with December 2019. This large 'natural experiment' has demonstrated that detaining fewer migrants is possible and it provides an opportunity to review the necessity for large-scale detention for the purpose of immigration control, as well as its impact on health inequalities. Additionally, given that detainee release arrangements had already been considered unsafe prior to the pandemic, clinicians and service providers should take into consideration that many of those released may not be receiving adequate post-release continuity of care.

Mental healthcare for asylum-seekers and refugees residing in the United Kingdom: a scoping review of policies, barriers, and enablers

Background

Since 2011, a large influx of asylum-seekers and refugees has put pressure on the UK’s under-resourced national health services and mental health services. Asylum-seekers and refugees (ASR) may experience traumatic events pre-departure, life-threating circumstances on their journeys, and difficulties integrating into host countries related to immigration policies, social isolation, poor living conditions, and unemployment, all of which can significantly affect their mental health. This topic is increasingly important due to the numbers of people seeking asylum and growing concern for their mental health on resettlement. This study examined UK-wide policies and guidance, healthcare practices, barriers, and enablers of mental healthcare for ASR residing in the UK.

Methods

We conducted a scoping review using Arksey and O’Malley’s 2005 framework, which included semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from non-governmental organisations, academia, UK National Health Service, and community groups. We synthesised and analysed literature and interview data thematically to examine current barriers and potential enablers of ASR mental health support in the UK.

Results

We included 39 literature sources, of 1,638 identified, and 10 stakeholder interviews. Sources, most published in 2019 (n = 13), included data from England (n = 13), Scotland (n = 3), Wales (n = 3), and Northern Ireland (n = 2) and covered access to care (n = 16), mental health disorders (n = 7), impacts on health (n = 7), barriers to care (n = 13), policies and plans (n = 4), and clinical recommendations (n = 3). Synthesised themes from literature and interviews included existing barriers (i.e. communication difficulties and lack of funding, resources, and political will) and potential enablers (i.e. proposed provision practices, social needs of ASR, and policy changes).

Conclusions

There is a gap in the literature regarding UK-wide assessment of access and delivery of mental healthcare for ASR in the UK. Time sensitive and culturally appropriate approaches are needed, with greater funding and resource support from the UK Government. This study provides justification for a call to relax hostile environment policies, and for ASR-specific mental health services and support to be considered within the UK. Further research is needed to assess implementation of guidelines across the UK.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13033-021-00473-z.

[Infectious and parasitic diseases in Brazil, 2010 to 2017: considerations for surveillanceEnfermedades infecciosas y parasitarias en Brasil de 2010 a 2017: aspectos para la vigilancia sanitaria]

Objetivo.

Apresentar um método para identificar áreas críticas relativas a doenças infecciosas e parasitárias selecionadas para fins de vigilância em saúde, analisando a sua associação a indicadores de pobreza no Brasil.

Métodos.

Foram mapeadas as taxas de incidência de dengue, doença de Chagas aguda, esquistossomose, hanseníase, hepatite A, leishmaniose tegumentar, leishmaniose visceral, leptospirose, malária e tuberculose. Foram realizadas análises para os anos de 2010 a 2017 a partir de um indicador síntese, calculado como a média dos coeficientes médios de incidência para cada agravo normalizada pela média e desvio padrão durante o período analisado. A estimativa da base populacional foi de 2014. Os coeficientes calculados foram estratificados para classificação dos municípios em criticidade muito alta, alta, média, baixa ou muito baixa conforme cada doença. Também foram selecionados indicadores de diferentes dimensões que expressassem desigualdades socioeconômicas e segregação espacial nos municípios brasileiros, sendo testada a sua associação às doenças em estudo.

Resultados.

O indicador mostrou que 40,5% dos municípios brasileiros apresentam alta criticidade, sobretudo nas regiões Norte, parte do Nordeste e Centro-Oeste. Os indicadores “proporção de pobreza”, “lixo no entorno”, “esgoto no entorno” e “famílias chefiadas por mulheres” podem aumentar a chance de a localidade apresentar maior criticidade para as doenças. O indicador “esgoto adequado” pode ser considerado potencial fator de proteção.

Conclusões.

A técnica utilizada foi adequada para orientar ações de vigilância no país e permite a articulação entre vigilâncias locais e demais setores para contornar os problemas de saúde causados por doenças infecciosas e parasitárias e fatores relacionados.