Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “REFUGEES”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 613 records · Page 34Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

[Refugees and migrants].

Today, there are about 14 million refugees worldwide. The United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees supports them with legal aid, food supplies, housing and preventive health measures, and also tries to find a permanent residence for the refugees. In recent years, there has been increasing awareness about the great number of internally displaced persons in many countries, and of the extent of economic migration. The fear that immigrants may be a threat to the public health, especially as regards import of infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and tuberculosis, is diminishing. The cultural aspects of health care among immigrants require increased attention, both from the immigrants themselves, and the countries to which they immigrate.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1979

Intestinal parasites in Laotian refugees.

Laotian refugees relocated in the Columbus, Ohio, area were screened for intestinal parasites. Eight different pathogens were isolated. The prevalence of the various organisms ranged from 4 to 61 percent of persons affected and 18 to 100 percent of families. These data show a higher prevalence of parasitic disease than that revealed by previous observations by the Center for Disease Control among Southeast Asian refugees. It was also apparent that neither federal nor local programs were adequate to meet the special health care needs of these refugees nor to safeguard the health of communities they entered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Primary care needs of Cambodian refugees.

Cambodian refugees who endured the Pol Pot regime experienced a horrendous assault on their physical and mental health. The complaints and diagnoses of 168 Cambodian refugees who presented to a family medicine primary care clinic between 1985 and 1987 were examined. Fourteen of these patients were visited in their homes to obtain in-depth perspectives of their health beliefs and needs. The results support the growing awareness that Cambodian refugees require sensitive and sophisticated approaches to dealing with widespread emotional and physical dysfunction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Mental health problems in refugees after World War II].

A review is presented of the problems in investigation and research in connection with transcultural psychiatry. The literature concerning psychiatric illness among refugees during the past 30 years is reviewed. On an average, the morbidity is considerable with an incidence of psychoses 2-5 times that in matched groups in the host countries. The conditions primarily involved are schizophrenia and paranoid psychoses. About 50 per cent of the refugees have considerable psychiatric complaints of non-psychotic nature and, in many of them, these persist for many years after arrival in the host country. A pronounced tendency to somatization is frequently present. Standardization of the methods of investigation and the diagnostic criteria are recommended for future research. Investigation of groups of refugees which have hitherto been poorly elucidated is recommended.

Combat Disorders↗
PubMed1987

The Mariel refugee and the New York Criminal Court.

In the spring of 1980, the Mariel Boat Lift brought refugees from Communist Cuba to the shores of Florida. Most refugees came seeking political freedom, but many were sent by the Cuban Government directly from its prisons and mental institutions. Literal rejects of their own society, they arrived in this country and spent many months interned in refugee camps. As they moved out into local communities, their behavioral problems began to come to the attention of local authorities. This paper describes the "Marielitos" seen in the Forensic Psychiatry Clinic for the Criminal and Supreme Courts of New York between mid-1980 and mid-1985. It explores how their reactions to their new environment may be affected by their past psychiatric and criminal histories, their language barrier, and the stress of the emigration experience.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

[Health survey of the maternal and child population at an Afghan refugees' camp in Pakistan].

A survey on maternal and child health was conducted in the Afghan refugees' camp of Kot-Chandana in Pakistan (109,000 people). Neonatal and infant mortalities were respectively 21% and 78%. The vaccination rate was low. Nevertheless, malnutrition and malaria were relatively unfrequent. This survey showed that the health conditions in the Kot Chandara camp differed appreciably from those in other refugees camps. The authors emphasize the need for health evaluation in all refugees camps before to conducting a mass health campaign.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Community participation in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan.

Community participation is regarded by many as the key to the primary health care (PHC) approach; that is the most essential factor in determining the success of failure of a PHC programme. In September 1983, UNICEF and Save the Children Fund (SCF) signed an agreement for a pilot PHC project in Badaber refugee camp, Pakistan, as the first phase in development of PHC in areas settled by Afghan refugees, under the supervision of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) ant the government of Pakistan. This paper reviews the factors enhancing and inhibiting the formation of a community, describes how community participation was achieved in Badaber and discusses the prospects for replication of the model in the 86 camps in North West Frontier Province which are funded by UNHCR.

Afghanistan↗
PubMed1983

In search of healers--Southeast Asian refugees in the American health care system.

Healing is the alleviation of sickness, which includes both medically defined problems of pathophysiology (disease) and personal definitions of not being well (illness). Refugees from Southeast Asia now have a special need for healing because their health problems are changing from those of concern to public health, which are well documented and for which there are known effective treatments, to those that are primarily a personal concern and that are difficult to diagnose and treat effectively because of their chronic nature and their cultural and emotional components. The finding among refugees of physical complaints for which there is no identifiable medical cause is explained by cultural tendencies in Southeast Asia that promote focusing on somatic symptomatology, and by a delayed somatic response to refugee trauma. To prevent escalation of medical intervention, physicians need to be sensitive to Southeast Asians' attitudes toward health and their expectations and apprehensions regarding Western medicine.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed1983

Clinical findings in Southeast Asian refugees.

Since 1979, we have provided comprehensive medical care to a group of 142 Southeast Asian refugees who relocated in Connecticut. In this group, we identified clinically important issues in child development. As plotted on standard growth curves, 47% of refugee children were below the fifth percentile in height for age and 22% were below the fifth percentile in weight for height. Although these children are potentially at increased risk for nutrition-related health problems, our clinical assessment did not confirm malnutrition. We also confirm a high prevalence of intestinal parasitism (59%), positive tuberculin test results (40%), and hepatitis B antigenemia (16%), as observed previously by health authorities. We conclude that anthropometry should not replace a clinical nutritional assessment of refugee children.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The childbearing Haitian refugee--cultural applications to clinical nursing.

As a result of the recent influx of Haitian refugees, referred to as the "boat people," the large county-owned hospital in Miami, Fla., reported that, of the 8,000 births for 1980, approximately 1 in 5 deliveries was of a Haitian woman. One hundred fourteen Haitians gave birth at that institution during July 1980, and this pattern continues to date. Although some research investigations have been conducted in relation to Haitians, none have had the specific focus of this study which used an assessment tool to develop a cultural profile of the refugee Haitian childbearing client as a basis for deriving culturally appropriate nursing goals and interventions. Ten pregnant refugee women, born in Haiti and residing in Miami, were interviewed in their homes by a Haitian (Creole-speaking) interviewer. Areas of respondent consensus and individual responses of interest are discussed in this paper. The authors have compiled a list of care givers' goals and interventions directed toward specific beliefs, values, and practices. Assumptions held by nursing personnel that all Haitian childbearing clients who have recently arrived in south Florida are so different as to have few characteristics in common with the American culture are not supported by the findings of this investigation. Rather, the findings suggest that the 10 Haitian women who were interviewed generally perceived pregnancy and its particular needs and characteristics in much the same way and with similar concerns as their American counterparts. The variations in their responses reemphasized the need for accurate culture-specific assessment of each client in order to provide appropriate health care. Replicating the study among the other cultures in the Miami area would extend the interpretations of this study and be an exciting challenge.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Health status of refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

More than 0.5 million refugees from Southeast Asia have immigrated to the United States. We undertook a prospective evaluation of 709 refugees within two months of their resettlement in San Diego. The sample included 164 Vietnamese, 356 Cambodians, 139 Laotians, and 50 Hmong. The prevalence of abnormalities was high: intestinal parasites, 61%; positive tuberculin test (PPD) results 55%; anemia, 37%; hepatitis B antigenemia, 14%; and abnormal VDRL test results, 12%. Except for hepatitis, significant differences were noted among the Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Hmong subjects on each of these health status indicators. The refugee population should not be considered a homogeneous group of Indochinese, particularly by those responsible for their health care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Diarrhoeal diseases among refugees in Indonesia.

The influx of refugees from Vietnam had created some consequences especially in transmission of certain communicable diseases. During several months of their first arrival, most of illness (90%) were caused by upper respiratory tract infections, skin diseases and diarrhoeal diseases. Several efforts and measures had been done by the Government of Indonesia in collaboration with several agencies i.e. P3V, PMI, UNHCR, W.VI, etc. As a result of the activities, a reduction of diarrhoeal diseases, has been observed. There was no cholera or typhoid cases detected through routine surveillance activities or by special survey. If we examine the morbidity and mortality pattern of refugees or we are comparing with Indonesian figures, it can be concluded that diarrhoeal diseases is not a significant health problem among refugees in Indonesia.

Diarrhea↗
PubMed1982

Diarrhoea among Vietnamese refugees in the Philippines.

A 6-month survey of diarrhoeas in Vietnamese refugee camp children was carried out and was responsible for 32.5% of pediatric consultations. One hundred twenty cases were studied and underwent laboratory work-up. Peak incidence was in the 4-6 years. Diarrhoea was observed to be at its peak in April and June which coincides with the increase in the number of transients and with the rainy season. Diarrhoea with fever and abdominal pain were the most prominent clinical symptoms. Only 8.3% grew bacterial pathogens' enteropathogenic E. coli being the most common followed by Staphylococcus aureus. It is apparent that a causative agent other than a bacterial pathogen such as a virus may play a major role in diarrhoeas in Vietnamese refugee infants and children. The lack of environmental sanitation and health education play a major role in the causation of diarrhoea in these refugee children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Intestinal parasites in Southeast Asian refugees.

A survey of intestinal parasitism in 6,241 Southeast Asian refugees (3,576 males and 2,665 females) indicated that 32.9 percent of the refugees had one or more intestinal parasites. A total of 1,178 (57.3 percent) males and 878 (42.7 percent) females harbored the parasites, with helminths representing the most frequent isolate. Intestinal parasitic infections may be considered minimal public health threats in the United States because of effective hygienic practices and sanitation facilities. However, it is important to emphasize that the attack rate also will be influenced by continued health education, job activities, and diagnosis and treatment of the refugees for these parasites.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Socioeconomic status of Indochinese refugees in the United States: progress and problems.

The Social Security Administration is responsible for administering assistance programs not only to needy citizens but also to lawfully admitted aliens who require such aid. It therefore is interested in the economic situation of all the Nation's inhabitants, including refugees. This article examines the status of one such group--the Indochinese refugees who came to this country following the fall of the South Vietnamese government in 1975. A series of sample surveys, commissioned by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, reveals that most members of the original group of 130,000 Indochinese had achieved a large measure of economic self-sufficiency by the end of 1978. In the fall of that year, however, a new wave of Indochinese refugees began emigrating to the United States. The latecomers--who now outnumber the original group--are generally poorer, less well educated, and less acclimated to urban living than were their predecessors. Such characteristics suggest higher future resettlement costs, which could well be exacerbated by the propensity of ethnic groups to cluster in a few areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Prevalence of viral infections in Mozambican refugees in Swaziland.

The seroprevalence for antibodies to HIV-1, HTLV-1, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) were determined in a large group of Mozambican refugees living in Swaziland. Serum samples were collected from a total of 398 refugees located in the two camps (Ndzevane and Malindza). The prevalence for antibodies in the two camps were as follows: Ndzevane: 1.2% (HIV-1); 2.8% (HTLV-1); 0.3% (HCV); 4% (HEV) and 66% for any HBV marker. Malindza: 10.8% (HIV-1); 5.4% (HTLV-1); nil (HCV); 2% (HEV) and 65.7% for any HBV marker. The difference in the HIV-1 seroprevalence between the two camps was statistically highly significant. The phenomenon is possibly related to the location of the Malindza camp in the northern most populous area of Swaziland, resulting in more frequent contact between refugees and the local Swazi population.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[An outbreak of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 dysentery in a refugee camp in Rwanda].

As a consequence of the civil war that devastated Burundi in October 1993, more than 300,000 refugees settled in the neighboring country of Rwanda. We describe the outbreak of dysentery due to Shigella dysenteriae type 1 (Sd1) that developed in Nzangwa, a camp hosting some 20,000 Burundese refugees. Between November 17, 1993 and March 10, 1994, 6,122 cases of bloody diarrhea were notified by the health information system of the camp. The overall attack rate was 32.3%, and the fatality rate was 3.8%. Children under five years of age were the most affected group of the population. All dysentery cases were treated with nalidixic acid for 5 days. The compliance assessment showed that less than 50% of the ambulatory patients completed the 5-day regimen. From 35 stool samples obtained from the refugees, seven Sd1 strains were isolated, of which three were multi-resistant to nalidixic acid. These results confirmed the morbidity and mortality of Sd1 outbreaks in the displaced populations of Central Africa. We also emphasize the difficulties in implementing effective prevention measures and appropriate case management strategies in this environment. To improve the management of patients in large Sd1 outbreaks with limited resources, we devised a clinical classification of cases according to the risk of dying.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Public health impact of Rwandan refugee crisis: what happened in Goma, Zaire, in July, 1994? Goma Epidemiology Group.

The flight of 500,000-800,000 Rwandan refugees into the North Kivu region of Zaire in July, 1994, overwhelmed the world's response capacity. During the first month after the influx, almost 50,000 refugees died, an average crude mortality rate of 20-35 per 10,000 per day. This death rate was associated with explosive epidemics of diarrhoeal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae 01 and Shigella dysenteriae type 1. 3-4 weeks after the influx of refugees, acute malnutrition rates among children under 5 years old ranged between 18 and 23%. Children with a recent history of dysentery and those in households headed by women were at higher risk of malnutrition. A well-coordinated relief programme, based on rapidly acquired health data and effective interventions, was associated with a steep decline in death rates to 5 to 8 per 10,000 per day by the second month of the crisis. The prevention of high mortality due to diarrhoeal disease epidemics in displaced populations relies primarily on the prompt provision of adequate quantities of disinfected water, basic sanitation, community outreach, and effective case management of ill patients. In the emergency phase, effective, low-technology measures include bucket chlorination at untreated water sources, designated defaecation areas, active case-finding through community outreach, and oral rehydration. Relief agencies must place increased emphasis on training personnel in relevant skills to address major public health emergencies caused by population displacement.

Child, Preschool↗