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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Mental illness and help-seeking behavior among Mariel Cuban and Haitian refugees in south Florida.

Differences in psychopathology and use of the mental health system by recent refugee groups are explored in light of competing hypotheses stemming from theories of immigrant adaptation and minority mental health. Results show that would-be Haitian refugees arriving in South Florida during the early 1980s had relatively small needs for mental health care, but whatever needs they had were largely unattended by the health services system. Mariel Cubans had far greater needs that were mostly met satisfactorily by virtue of their familiarity with service facilities prior to departure and their incorporation into a favorable social environment. These contextual factors are added and compared with the individual-level predictor variables suggested by Andersen and others. The results' implications for theories of immigrant mental health and help-seeking and for the implementation of effective delivery programs are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

A European project on health problems, mental disorders and cross-cultural aspects of developing effective rehabilitation procedures for refugee and immigrant youth.

The present paper describes the conceptual framework, rationale and methods of an international comparative study on risk and protective factors of adolescent health and well-being, with particular focus on youth with immigrant (or refugee) experience. This is a comprehensive study on the quality of life and health outcomes of adolescent youth that looks at group-specific differences within different socio-cultural contexts across six European countries, including those of post-conflict communities. The research project combines both quantitative and qualitative methods, using a common set-up across all countries involved with the goal of collecting data on 3,500 adolescents that are strictly comparable to allow cross-country analyses. It is particularly aimed at increasing the understanding of acculturation processes of a particularly sensitive population of adolescent refugees and immigrants and of the influence that the interaction of contextual and developmental factors has on their mental health and psychological well-being.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2004

Acceptance of screening and completion of treatment for latent tuberculosis infection among refugee claimants in Canada.

SETTING: Primary care clinic for refugee claimants, Montreal, Canada. OBJECTIVES: To identify factors linked to the acceptance of the tuberculin skin test (TST), and assess completion of treatment for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). DESIGN: Asylum seekers consulting for a medical complaint or medical immigration examination between February and October 1999 were assessed for eligibility. Personal and clinical information was gathered prospectively by questionnaire. Hospital files were reviewed to assess completion of LTBI treatment. RESULTS: In our study, 296 subjects (72.4% of 409 eligible) were offered TST, of whom 227 accepted (76.7%). Of these, 49 (24.9%) had a TST > or = 10 mm and 24 (49%) completed 6 months of LTBI treatment. Logistic regression models showed that patients who had never had a TST (OR 3.2, 95%CI 1.34-7.6) or had no temporary exclusion criteria (OR 4.0, 95%CI 1.6-9.9) were more likely to accept TST. Perceiving tuberculosis as a severe disease (OR 0.29, 95%CI 0.09-0.91) and consulting for an immigration examination (OR 0.42, 95%CI 0.18-0.98) was associated with refusal of TST. Increasing age was found to be independently associated with a positive TST (OR 1.06, 95%CI 1.01-1.12). Variability in the proportion of positive results was found between TST readers. CONCLUSION: This study supports the feasibility of screening refugee claimants for LTBI during medical consultation and of developing organizational links to ensure completion of LTBI treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Case reports of devitalization because of depression. Refugee children seeking asylum develop life-threatening losses of function].

Five children were admitted and treated at the department of child psychiatry in Stockholm due to severe generalised losses of functions without underlying physical illness. They were all from asylum seeking refugee families with severe traumatic experience in their homelands and a prevailing state of hopelessness, helplessness and unimpressionable time perspective in Sweden. Result of treatment was very good when the life circumstances could be recuperated and particularly the obviously disease maintaining symbiotic despair of the mother could be abolished. The specific expression of psychic ill health in refugee children described here has not been systematically reported and this study indicates some practical aspects of treating the state as well as preventing its development.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Forensic medical examination of refugees who claim to have been tortured.

The United Nations Convention against torture prohibits repatriation of refugees if there is reason to believe they will be tortured on return to their country. A history of torture is therefore an important factor in making a case for asylum. In this study, the results of the medical examinations of 59 torture victims investigated at the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Aarhus, Denmark, 1996-2002, are presented and discussed. Variables including age, sex, education, health, torture methods, condition of confinement, torture aftereffects, and findings at the forensic examination were registered in a database (Paradox) and analyzed. In 70%, aftereffects of torture could be documented. These included scars after fixation, burns, incisions, or flogging. Symptoms and signs from joints, muscles, and nerves were common in victims who had been suspended. Many of the victims of phalanga had painful feet and signs of walking impairment. A majority of the victims suffered from posttraumatic stress syndrome. An independent medical report offers an opportunity to evaluate and elaborate the story told by the victim and should be used in disputed cases. We have a duty to protect refugees against torture.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of issues facing immigrant and refugee families.

This article identifies the different problems immigrants and refugees face in the United States, especially socioeconomic and psychosocial concerns that often relate to the experience of migration. Traditional familial roles and responsibilities are frequently challenged, exacerbated by sociocultural differences and inadequate understandings between the new arrivals and the host country. Essential in assessments of immigrant and refugee families is evaluating resources for social, economic, and cultural integration; discriminating between realistic and unrealistic expectations; evaluating families' problem-solving abilities; exploring family functioning within the context of heritage; identifying the transferability of work skills; and gauging families' learning capabilities and motivation for adaptation.

Acculturation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social work with Bosnian Muslim refugee children and families: a review of the literature.

More than two million Bosnian Muslims were ethnically cleansed in the Balkan region; of these, 200,000 were killed while the others were forced to flee their homes and become refugees. This article focuses on the influence of societal and cultural values coupled with wartime experiences on the transition of Bosnian refugee families to their new countries. Consideration is given to culturally competent theoretical frameworks and practice principles social workers can use to assist Bosnian Muslim children and families in their adaptation process within their resettlement communities.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Emergency mental health nursing for refugees and asylum seekers.

Emergency nurses see refugees and asylum seekers at the very point of their distress. This clinical update is intended to support nurses in their practice should they encounter an adult asylum seeker needing emergency mental health care. Practical strategies are highlighted to help nurses assess, care and comfort refugees and asylum seekers in this predicament.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2006

[Patterns of contact with general practice in the daytime by guest workers with immigrant and refugee background in Copenhagen municipality, 1998].

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about immigrants' contact with the Danish health system. The aim of this study was to compare the pattern of contact with general practitioners of guest workers, refugees and non-immigrants in Copenhagen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 2.04 daytime contacts (home visits, clinic consultations and telephone consultations) by 423,202 inhabitants during the year 1998 as recorded in the National Patient Registry were merged with information about citizenship and place of birth in the Danish Central Office of Civil Registration. The contacts were described by the average number of contacts per person at risk per year. The differences between non-immigrants and immigrants were analyzed using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Immigrants and non-immigrants showed nearly the same sex- and age-dependent contact pattern. Immigrant children (1-18 years) and older people (60+ years) had a lower contact rate than non-immigrants in the same age groups. The 19- to 59-year-old guest worker women and men had 3% and 5% higher contact rates and the refugee women and men 2% and 17% higher contact rates, respectively, than non-immigrants in the same age group. The percentage of telephone consultations was lower for immigrants and the clinic consultation rate higher than for non-immigrants. CONCLUSION: There are sex- and age-specific differences between immigrants and non-immigrants. If equity is a goal in public health care, we should know more about its actual use. More complex research designs are needed, as well as theoretical studies, to shed light on these issues.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Housing conditions and health in Jalazone Refugee Camp in Palestine.

We investigated some of the housing conditions at Jalazone Refugee Camp and their impact on refugees' health inside the camp, especially those with respiratory symptoms and diseases. A randomized sample of 200 housing units, representing one fifth of the camp's population, was selected. Approximately half of the people in our sample were under 15 years. Overcrowding and high population density were significant. There was a statistically significant relationship between some respiratory conditions (common cold, cough, tonsillitis and ear infection) and poor housing conditions (including damp and mould), overcrowding and high population density. A radical solution for the housing problem is needed to avert further negative health impacts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Validating a cross-cultural instrument for measuring torture, trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder in Indochinese refugees.

There are no valid and reliable cross-cultural instruments capable of measuring torture, trauma, and trauma-related symptoms associated with the DSM-III-R diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Generating such standardized instruments for patients from non-Western cultures involves particular methodological challenges. This study describes the development and validation of three Indochinese versions of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), a simple and reliable screening instrument that is well received by refugee patients and bicultural staff. It identifies for the first time trauma symptoms related to the Indochinese refugee experience that are associated with PTSD criteria. The HTQ's cultural sensitivity may make it useful for assessing other highly traumatized non-Western populations.

China↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Public health problems in relation to refugees].

In Hessen, obligatory health examination of refugees includes the following: Clinical examination, faecal bacteriological examination for salmonella and shigella, chest x-ray of persons aged 3 years and older, lues- and hepatitis B serology in case of persons of 16 years of age and older. The results obtained with 3453 refugees were analysed: There were remarkable differences according to country of origin. In connection with Public Health, only two diseases are important: tuberculosis and lues. Early diagnosis and immediate treatment minimise the risks. Faeco-orally transmitted diseases (for instance, salmonella infections) are no longer of any importance.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1991

Outbreak of pellagra among Mozambican refugees--Malawi, 1990.

Micronutrient deficiency disorders, including pellagra, have emerged as major problems in refugee populations that depend on international relief assistance for food supplies. This report summarizes an investigation of pellagra that occurred among Mozambican refugees in Malawi during 1990.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Screening for hepatitis B virus infection among refugees arriving in the United States, 1979-1991.

Because hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is highly endemic in several areas of the world, both the prevalence of and risk for HBV infection are substantially greater among persons emigrating from these areas to the United States than for the overall U.S. population. In 1985, federal funds were made available to supplement ongoing state and local health department refugee-screening programs and to promote serologic screening for HBV infection in pregnant Indochinese women and household contacts of these female HBV carriers among persons identified by the Department of State as refugees entering the United States. This report summarizes data collected during 1979-1991 by selected screening programs that implemented universal hepatitis B (HB) screening at different times.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Practical field epidemiology to investigate a cholera outbreak in a Mozambican refugee camp in Malawi, 1988.

Of all populations affected by cholera, refugees are at particular risk of infection due to overcrowding and poor sanitation. Between 15 March and 17 May 1988, 951 cases of cholera were registered at the cholera treatment centre in a Mozambican refugee camp in Malawi. The epidemic duration was 65 days. Vibrio cholerae biotype E1 Tor serotype Inaba was isolated. To identify high-risk groups and potential risk of acquiring the disease, an epidemiologic investigation was conducted. The attack rate of recorded cases was 2.6% with a range from 0.9 to 5.1% for different sections of the camp. The case fatality rate was 3.3% and decreased from week 1 to week 6. The epidemic started in the section near the market place and radiated out. A matched-pair case-control study of food and water consumption was performed early in the outbreak. It showed that cases were more likely to use shallow wells (surface wells) instead of boreholes compared to controls (OR = 4.5, CI = 1.0-20.8, P = 0.04) and that cases were more likely to have had contact with the market than controls (OR = 3.5, CI = 0.7-16.8, P = 0.09). None of the food items available at the market was more likely to be preferred by cases than controls. Recommendations included early case finding and treatment, temporary closure of the market, tetracycline prophylaxis of contacts, and water chlorination.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1990

[Study of the transmission of onchocerciasis in the surroundings of a refugee camp located in the savanna zone of Cameroon].

Chadian refugees, most of whom are free from onchocerciasis, settled recently in a camp in a savanna area of the northern Cameroon where the prevalence is about 80% and the blindness rate is 4% of the adult population. In view of the risks of onchocerciasis facing the immigrants, the authors carried out an entomological survey in this region aimed at determining the modes of transmission and assessing the possibilities for the control of this disease. After a three-month survey in the study area, it appears clearly that 1) transmission takes place only during the rainy season, 2) the main vectors are the two savanna species, Simulium damnosum s.s. and Simulium sirbanum, 3) the larval breeding sites are not located on the principal river, the Faro, but on its small seasonal tributaries, 4) the local populations still free from onchocerciasis and the Chadian refugees who farm close to these tributaries run the risk of getting serious ocular lesions in the long run which could lead to blindness. The conclusions of this survey prompted the authors to envisage an onchocerciasis control campaign in this area against the larval stages of the vectors.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The cultural bereavement interview: a new clinical research approach for refugees.

The large number of refugees in the world must cope with the loss of family and homeland. This paper proposes a new concept of cultural bereavement and presents a framework for its identification in the clinical interview with refugees. The cultural bereavement interview explores reactions to personal losses and to losses of both the social systems and the cultural meanings. Eleven areas are systematically explored, the first nine are indicators of bereavement and the tenth and eleventh are "antidotes" to cultural bereavement. The cultural bereavement interview can provide a clinical framework for exploring the patient's personal and cultural bereavement, clarify the "structure" of the patient's reactions to loss, complement the currently used psychiatric diagnostic categories, acknowledge the cultural system of meaning held by the patient, and provide information to be used in planning social supports or interventions.

Acculturation↗