The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken created opportunities in various areas of life, but also created new challenges or increased existing ones, which can also have a (direct or indirect) impact on health and well-being of the population or certain population groups. This health impact assessment (HIA) was commissioned to provide an overview of these effects. The foundation of gathering information for the impact assessment was a national literature research and analysis combined with an online survey. In addition, a search of international literature was conducted by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. The impact assessment and an initial collection of recommendations for action were carried out together with relevant stakeholders in the context of several thematically merged online assessment workshops. Positive and negative - direct as well as indirect - impacts on health in different areas of life could be identified, with the negative impacts predominating in proportion. In addition to identifying the impacts, the HIA also identified groups that were particularly affected by the pandemic. In the course of this HIA, it became clear that the direct in indirect health impacts in many areas of life are interrelated (e. g., job loss, family climate, social inclusion, and psychological well-being) and that a separate discussion often fell short. This HIA provides an overview of various impacts and allows first impressions on actions for future measures in regard to the pandemic in various areas of life, according to the HiAP approach.
Psychosocial needs are common among migrants but their use of mental health services is not. Little is known about the understanding of mental health issues by migrants and their perception of mental health services. The study aims to provide a basis for further developments of the mental health system to contribute to health equity in the long term. Qualitative research: literature review, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. 54 migrants from Afghanistan, Somalia, arabic-speaking countries and Turkey and 16 experts were involved. Access was gained through cooperating with an institution offering various health services in different languages and well-known by migrant communities. Migrants from Turkey with long residence in Austria and linked to psychosocial services were chosen as reference group. There are many similarities among socio-economically disadvantaged people in terms of their understanding of mental health and their willingness to seek and accept support. However, differences can also be observed which are related to country of origin or gender, but also to acculturation status, current life situation or previous experiences within the home or the receiving country. The Turkish reference group shows, that mental health issues are given higher priority in the course of time. To quicken this process, targeted measures for the promotion of health literacy are decisive, but also integration possibilities and the social climate. With a wide range of access and psychosocial support options, attitudes like openness, impartiality and flexibility among health professionals, it is possible to reach migrants with psychosocial needs. A stronger exchange on how people with a migration background and psychosocial needs are perceived and reached is needed. But also activities to increase the diversity of support services and to carry information about mental health issues as well as the existing services into the migrant communities Key messages Specific activities can improve the knowledge about mental health issues within migrant communities. A wide range of access and psychosocial support services is needed to address the diversity.
The Austrian early childhood interventions programme (“Frühe Hilfen”) is an overall concept of health promotion measures, aiming to support families depending on their individual needs to create good conditions for raising their children. This should contribute to long-term health of the children. The manifold effects of this complex intervention on the families are to be investigated in the future. To do so, a research concept shall be developed using a participatory research approach. A selective literature search was carried out to identify concrete recommendations for participatory research and previous experiences on the participation of parents. Based on these results, semi-structured interviews and group discussions with families were carried out. According to literature, parents have rarely been used as co-researchers. Our experiences show that access to families in burdened life circumstances is possible via the low-threshold structures of our early childhood interventions programme. In 2018, 21 families participated in interviews and group discussions. The latter method is particularly well suited for obtaining targeted information from families and building trust for long-term cooperation. Still, the stressful family situations make it difficult to participate in research activities. Therefore, specific conditions are required. At present, it is clear that it is feasible to involve families and test research methods together. The next step, an equal cooperation of families and researchers, shall be achieved by the use of a research group. A small group started in Spring 2019, eventually being involved in the implementation of some methods during fall 2019. Whether families are willing to participate continuously for a long time in research activities remains unclear, so far. Key messages Participatory research with families in stressful situations needs time and patience as well as specific conditions, but it is possible. Participation of the target group in the planning phase of further research can lead to relevant insights for programme improvements.
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