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Purpose -The immigration detention environment largely influences the health and well-being of detainees by either aggravating medical conditions or contributing to new illness. There is limited research on how detainees experience and try to cope with this environment. The purpose of this paper is to describe experiences of detainees in Swedish immigration detention centres. Design/methodology/approach -Semi-structured interviews were conducted in three detention centres with a total of 21 detainees who had been detained for at least two weeks. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings -The detainees likened immigration detention to imprisonment. They experienced lack of control over their life situation mainly through arbitrary restrictions and lack of proper response from authorities making it appear futile to seek help. This perceived lack of control forced them into passivity. Differences in amenities provided in the centres were observed and some of these were reported to assist in making detention more bearable. Research limitations/implications -This study provides only one stakeholder perspective. The perspectives of other stakeholders, such as detention staff, health care professionals and volunteers must be explored to improve understanding and mitigate the effects of detention. Originality/value -Irrespective of the better standards of detention in Sweden, the detainees considered detention as imprisonment affecting their health and well-being. If states deem detention to be necessary, improved staff-detainee interaction should be ensured through proper staff training, arbitrary restrictions within detention should be avoided and health care services should be improved.

Detention of irregular migrants awaiting deportation is widely practiced in many countries and has been shown to have profound negative impact on health and well-being of detainees. Detention staff, an integral part of the detention environment, affect and are affected by detainees’ health and well-being. The objective of the study was to explore experiences of staff working at Swedish immigration detention centres. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff in three Swedish detention centres and were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicate that the main challenge for the staff was to manage the emotional dilemma entailed in working as migration officers and simultaneously fellow human beings whose task was to implement deportation decisions while being expected to provide humane service to detainees. They tried to manage their dilemma by balancing the two roles, but still found it challenging. Among the staff, there was a high perception of fear of physical threat from detainees that made detention a stressful environment. Limited interaction between the staff and detainees was a reason for this. There is thus a need to support detention staff to improve their interaction with detainees in order to decrease their fear, manage their emotional dilemma, and provide better service to detainees. It is important to address staff challenges in order to ensure better health and well-being for both staff and detainees.

BackgroundDetention of immigrants negatively affects their health and well-being. Quality of life (QOL) is a broad concept incorporating the self-evaluation of one's own health and well-being that can provide an understanding of the health and well-being of immigrant detainees. The aim of this study was to estimate QOL among immigrant detainees in Sweden and to assess its relationship with the services provided in detention centres and with the duration of detention.DesignAll immigrants in all five existing Swedish detention centres (N=193) were invited to participate in the study (n=127). In this cross-sectional study, QOL was measured using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, which was administered by the first author. The questionnaire contained four additional questions measuring participants’ satisfaction with the services provided in detention. Associations between QOL domain scores and service satisfaction scores were assessed using regression analysis. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated to measure the degree of association between the duration of detention and QOL scores.ResultsThe mean QOL domain scores (out of 100) were 47.0, 57.5, 41.9, and 60.5 for the environmental, physical, psychological, and social domains, respectively. The level of support detainees received from detention staff was significantly positively associated with detainees’ physical (βadjusted 3.93, confidence interval [CI] 0.06–7.80) and psychological (βadjusted 5.72, CI 1.77–9.66) domain scores. There was also significant positive association between detainees’ satisfaction with the care they received from detention staff and the domain scores. The general health score in the WHOQOL-BREF was significantly associated with the detainees’ ability to understand the Swedish or English languages. Although not statistically significant, a longer duration of detention was negatively correlated with QOL scores.ConclusionImmigrant detainees report low QOL. Services provided at the centres, especially the support received from detention staff, is positively associated with their QOL. A review of detention guidelines addressing language barriers, staff training, and duration of detention is highly recommended.