Is there a need of health assessments for resettling refugees? A cross-sectional study of 1431 refugees who arrived in Denmark between 2014 and 2018

Abstract

Highlights Health assessments of newly arrived refugees detected health problems in 64%. Symptoms of PTSD were mentioned in a third of all health assessments. Vitamin D-deficiency was seen in 32% and latent tuberculosis in 15%. 88% of all newly arrived refugees in Aarhus accepted the offer of a health assessment.

Health and wellbeing in refugee families from Syria resettled in Denmark

“…The parameters measured reflect both mental and physical health and included self-reported health, wellbeing, stress, loneliness, pain or discomfort and objective measurements as BMI, cholesterol, HbA1c and hypertension. Thus, the findings support the conclusions of two recent Danish studies, that refugees show multiple health issues, and there is a need for systematic, specialized health assessments and services to resettled refugees ( Andersen et al., 2020 ; Hvass et al., 2021 ). Self-rated health was generally lower among women than men, which is in line with a higher proportion of women reporting being very bothered by different forms of pain or discomfort.…”

“…The refugee families’ health appeared to be substantially poorer as compared to a Danish reference population. These findings add to existing evidence of a high prevalence of communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, mental health and somatic symptoms among refugees at arrival ( Andersen et al., 2020 ; Hvass et al., 2021 ), and emphasize the need for general health assessments to all refugees upon arrival followed up by specialized health care.…”

“…Previous Danish practice included voluntary general health assessments to asylum seekers as part of current integration policies, but in 2016 these were made optional for the municipalities. Today, only the two largest municipalities, Copenhagen and Aarhus, systematically continue to offer health assessments to newly resettled refugees ( Andersen et al., 2020 ; Hvass et al., 2021 ). This means that a large number of refugees may encounter the Danish health care system for the first time at a point where they have an acute need for health care.…”

O papel de uma equipa de cuidados de saúde primários no acolhimento de refugiados afegãos

“…A migração é um determinante social para a saúde, 3 geradora de iniquidades, que condiciona o acesso aos cuidados de saúde, perda de suporte familiar e comunitário e consequências negativas para a saúde. [4][5][6][7][8][9] Subsequentemente, a diminuição dos níveis de saúde prejudica a prática integração no país de acolhimento, diminuindo a qualidade de vida e aumentando os custos de saúde nesta população. 5 As pessoas refugiadas são sujeitas a violência física, psicológica e sexual durante o processo migratório e nos países de acolhimento, sendo as mulheres mais vulneráveis.…”

“…13 Oferecer programas de saúde dirigidos, facilitar o acesso, disponibilizar equipas especializadas e compreender aspetos socioculturais tem impacto positivo em saúde. [7][8][9] A cultura afegã acrescenta complexidade ao processo de acolhimento, contribuindo para a perda de informação, pela necessidade de recorrer a tradutores ou a línguas estrangeiras. 6,11,14 Em Portugal, a estratégia de rastreio de doenças infeciosas e vacinação de grupos refugiados foi conduzida pelos departamentos regionais de saúde pública (SP), 15 em articulação com os cuidados de saúde primários (CSP), visando garantir o acesso a cuidados de saúde e cumprimento dos programas prioritários.…”