Problems refugees face when accessing health services

Lamb, Cathryn Finney; Smith, Mitchell

doi:10.1071/nb02065

Cited by 60 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Refugees and those with refugee‐like backgrounds are at risk of poor health before and after arrival in Australia 1,2 . Prior to arrival refugees may not have had access to appropriate health care and may have experienced exposure to many traumatic events, losses, separations or threats 3 .…”

Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior to arrival refugees may not have had access to appropriate health care and may have experienced exposure to many traumatic events, losses, separations or threats 3 . In situations of political and social instability where populations are exposed to human rights violations and organized violence, children and adolescents are at heightened risk of psychosocial deprivation and exposure to trauma 4 and therefore, require special attention when addressing health needs 1,2 .…”

Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Access to appropriate health assessment after arrival in a new country is often limited by cultural, language or financial constraints and the low priority given to health in the immediate resettlement period 2,5 . A lack of awareness of services available and poor understanding of the rights to health care and how to access a regular health provider also exist.…”

Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may be compounded by lack of awareness amongst health providers of refugee health issues 6,7 . In addition there may exist a fundamental distrust of government services following previous adverse experiences, such as imprisonment or torture 1,2,8 . Given these limitations, the need for sensitive service provision and advocacy for refugee children and their families is essential.…”

Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The vast majority of health care for children of refugee background occurs within the mainstream health system 2 in which there are particular barriers to accessing effective health care.…”

Section: Health Service Use Access and Eligibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

An issue of access: Delivering equitable health care for newly arrived refugee children in Australia

Davidson¹,

Skull²,

Burgner³

et al. 2004

J Paediatrics Child Health

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Newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers are faced with many difficulties in accessing effective health care when settling in Australia. Cultural, language and financial constraints, lack of awareness of available services, and lack of health provider understanding of the complex health concerns of refugees can all contribute to limiting access to health care. Understanding the complexities of a new health care system under these circumstances and finding a regular health provider may be difficult. In some cases there may be a fundamental distrust of government services. The different levels of health entitlements by visa category and (for some) detention on arrival in Australia may further complicate the provision and use of health services for providers and patients. Children are particularly at risk of suboptimal health care due to the impact of these factors combined with the effect of resettlement stresses on parents' ability to care for their children. Unaccompanied and separated children, and those in detention experience additional challenges in accessing care. This article aims to increase awareness among health professionals caring for refugee children of the challenges faced by this group in accessing and receiving effective health care in Australia. Particular consideration is given to the issues of equity, rights of asylum seekers, communication and cultural sensitivities in health care provision, and addressing barriers to health care. The aim of the paper is to alert practitioners to the complex issues surrounding the delivery of health care to refugee children and provide realistic recommendations to guide practice.

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Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Summary Of Health Entitlements For Australian Immigrantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The vast majority of health care for children of refugee background occurs within the mainstream health system 2 in which there are particular barriers to accessing effective health care.…”

Section: Health Service Use Access and Eligibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

An issue of access: Delivering equitable health care for newly arrived refugee children in Australia

Davidson¹,

Skull²,

Burgner³

et al. 2004

J Paediatrics Child Health

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Therapeutic Encounters between Young People, Bilingual Co-workers and Practitioners

Raval¹

2007

Working With Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

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Refugees and Health Care – The Need for Data: Understanding the Health of Government-assisted Refugees in Canada Through a Prospective Longitudinal Cohort

Gabriel

Morgan-Jonker

Phung

et al. 2011

Can J Public Health

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anada resettles between 10,000 and 12,000 refugees annually from nearly 70 different nationalities. 1 Of these, 2,000 to 3,000 are government-assisted refugees (GARs). 2 GARs are refugees selected abroad and appointed as Permanent Residents on arrival in Canada. In June 2002, amendments were made to the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in order to assist refugees in urgent need of protection. This resulted in the removal of pre-existing medical conditions as a barrier to settlement in Canada, 3 leading to new challenges for our health care system to meet the needs of incoming refugees. Unique health challenges for refugeesWhile there is some evidence to suggest that a "Healthy Immigrant Effect" exists, 4 when refugees are analyzed separately, they have higher age-standardized mortality rates than other immigrants. 5 This could be attributed to pre-migration experiences such as the stress of war and evacuation, physical abuse, sexual abuse, the challenges of life in a refugee camp, poor sanitation, poor nutrition, lack of access to health care and mental health concerns. On arrival, refugees have a high incidence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, syphilis, hepatitis B and gastrointestinal parasites, as well as mental health concerns. [4][5][6][7] Barriers to accessing health care for refugeesGiven the health challenges of refugees, timely access to appropriate health care is essential to physical and mental wellness, and the ability to settle successfully in Canada. Unfortunately, there are barriers to accessing health care for GARs, at the system, individual and provider level. GARs are eligible for basic provincial health care coverage on arrival in addition to one year of extended coverage through the Interim Federal Health (IFH) program. However there are often delays in securing provincial coverage and difficulties with accessing services through the IFH program. 8,9 Individual-level barriers to accessing care -such as difficulties with language, finances, transportation, mistrust of health care workers, perceived lack of access and lack of familiarity navigating the health system -further compromise access to health care. 8,10 At the provider level, feeling overwhelmed, insufficient reimbursement and time, lack of services, and lack of training to deliver culturally appropriate care are additional barriers. 9,10 These barriers often translate into decreased utilization of needed health care services. 11 Results from a pilot study in Canada indicated that recent refugees have a lower utilization rate for physicians and hospital services compared to other residents. 12 This

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Problems refugees face when accessing health services

Cited by 60 publications

References 21 publications

An issue of access: Delivering equitable health care for newly arrived refugee children in Australia

An issue of access: Delivering equitable health care for newly arrived refugee children in Australia

Therapeutic Encounters between Young People, Bilingual Co-workers and Practitioners

Refugees and Health Care – The Need for Data: Understanding the Health of Government-assisted Refugees in Canada Through a Prospective Longitudinal Cohort

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