scholarly journals Refugee Status Determination Procedure and Mental Health of the Applicant: Dynamics and Reciprocal Effects

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maša Vukčević Marković ◽  
Nikola Kovačević ◽  
Jovana Bjekić
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Reciprocal Effects ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Determination Procedure

scholarly journals Vulnerability pathways to mental health outcomes in children and parents during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jala Rizeq ◽  
Daphne J. Korczak ◽  
Katherine Tombeau Cost ◽  
Evdokia Anagnostou ◽  
Alice Charach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Family Functioning ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Material Deprivation ◽  
Reciprocal Effects ◽  
Prevention Policy ◽  
Economic Vulnerability ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
Socioeconomic And Demographic Factors

AbstractWe examined pathways from pre-existing psychosocial and economic vulnerability to mental health difficulties and stress in families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from two time points from a multi-cohort study initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic were used. Parents of children 6–18 years completed questionnaires on pre-COVID-19 socioeconomic and demographic factors in addition to material deprivation and stress due to COVID-19 restrictions, mental health, and family functioning. Youth 10 years and older also completed their own measures of mental health and stress. Using structural equation modelling, pathways from pre-existing vulnerability to material deprivation and stress due to COVID-19 restrictions, mental health, and family functioning, including reciprocal pathways, were estimated. Pre-existing psychosocial and economic vulnerability predicted higher material deprivation due to COVID-19 restrictions which in turn was associated with parent and child stress due to restrictions and mental health difficulties. The reciprocal effects between increased child and parent stress and greater mental health difficulties at Time 1 and 2 were significant. Reciprocal effects between parent and child mental health were also significant. Finally, family functioning at Time 2 was negatively impacted by child and parent mental health and stress due to COVID-19 restrictions at Time 1. Psychosocial and economic vulnerability is a risk factor for material deprivation during COVID-19, increasing the risk of mental health difficulties and stress, and their reciprocal effects over time within families. Implications for prevention policy and parent and child mental health services are discussed.

scholarly journals Trauma exposure and refugee status as predictors of mental health outcomes in treatment-seeking refugees

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 178-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen W. Knipscheer ◽  
Marieke Sleijpen ◽  
Trudy Mooren ◽  
F. Jackie June ter Heide ◽  
Niels van der Aa
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Health Centre ◽  
Traumatic Events ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Traumatic Memories ◽  
Reasonable Time Frame

Aims and methodThis study aimed to identify predictors of symptom severity for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in asylum seekers and refugees referred to a specialised mental health centre. Trauma exposure (number and domain of event), refugee status and severity of PTSD and depression were assessed in 688 refugees.ResultsSymptom severity of PTSD and depression was significantly associated with lack of refugee status and accumulation of traumatic events. Four domains of traumatic events (human rights abuse, lack of necessities, traumatic loss, and separation from others) were not uniquely associated with symptom severity. All factors taken together explained 11% of variance in PTSD and depression.Clinical implicationsTo account for multiple predictors of symptom severity including multiple traumatic events, treatment for traumatised refugees may need to be multimodal and enable the processing of multiple traumatic memories within a reasonable time-frame.

Emergency department mental health presentations by people born in refugee source countries: an epidemiological logistic regression study in a Medicare Local region in Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne C. Enticott ◽  
I-Hao Cheng ◽  
Grant Russell ◽  
Josef Szwarc ◽  
George Braitberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Model Stability ◽  
Interpreter Use ◽  
Source Countries ◽  
Age And Sex

This study investigated if people born in refugee source countries are disproportionately represented among those receiving a diagnosis of mental illness within emergency departments (EDs). The setting was the Cities of Greater Dandenong and Casey, the resettlement region for one-twelfth of Australia’s refugees. An epidemiological, secondary data analysis compared mental illness diagnoses received in EDs by refugee and non-refugee populations. Data was the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset in the 2008–09 financial year. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression created predictive models for mental illness using five variables: age, sex, refugee background, interpreter use and preferred language. Collinearity, model fit and model stability were examined. Multivariate analysis showed age and sex to be the only significant risk factors for mental illness diagnosis in EDs. ‘Refugee status’, ‘interpreter use’ and ‘preferred language’ were not associated with a mental health diagnosis following risk adjustment for the effects of age and sex. The disappearance of the univariate association after adjustment for age and sex is a salutary lesson for Medicare Locals and other health planners regarding the importance of adjusting analyses of health service data for demographic characteristics.

scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food rations of refugees in Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emery Manirambona ◽  
Theogene Uwizeyimana ◽  
Emmanuel Uwiringiyimana ◽  
Henna Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has significantly impacted the global economy, by forcing people to stay indoors and creating a ‘new normal’ of living. Rwanda has made notable efforts to fight the pandemic. However, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economy are numerous and the refugees residing in Rwanda are not spared these effects. As of December 2020, 164,000 people were granted refugee status in Rwanda according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The majority were from neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes regions, including DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Burundi. The impact the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy has led to a decline in donations to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which in turn has significantly reduced the food rations of refugees. Such paucity will no doubt cause unprecedented impacts on the people residing in refugee camps, who completely depend on humanitarian aid to meet their basic food requirements. This lack of access to adequate and affordable food will expose refugees to extreme hunger and starvation, putting their lives in danger by triggering forced returns, infections, social conflicts and thus higher morbidity and mortality.Furthermore, such stressful environments would no doubt put the mental health of these already vulnerable communities at risk. It is unsurprising that refugees are more likely to experience poor mental health compared to local population, including higher rates of depression and anxiety disorders including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is an issue as they are also less likely to receive support than the general population. Refugees in Rwanda are under the responsibility of UNHCR and WFP, who should ensure adequate food assistance is provided to refugees and therefore ameliorate the risks to health that result from food shortages, safeguarding these vulnerable communities.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review of Autobiographical Memory and Mental Health Research on Refugees and Asylum Seekers

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjida Khan ◽  
Sara K. Kuhn ◽  
Shamsul Haque
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Trauma Memory ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Event Recall

Research examining trauma, memory, and mental health among refugee and asylum-seeking people has increased in recent years. We systematically reviewed empirical work focusing on the link between autobiographical memory and mental health among these populations. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018095888). Six major databases were searched in August-2020 with no time limit for publication. Following PRISMA Statement guidelines, 22 articles reporting ten quantitative, nine qualitative, and three mixed-method studies were selected from 254 articles identified in the initial search. A basic convergent and qualitative meta-integration technique was employed for data extraction. Four recurrent themes were extracted: (1) memory activation method, (2) memory features, (3) memory content, and (4) refugee mental health. Theme 1 illustrates that narrative interviews, important event recall, and cue word methods were used in most studies. Theme 2 highlights that memories of refugee people were often less specific, inconsistent, and negative-focused. Retrieval failure was also common among these people. Theme 3 reveals that refugee and asylum-seeking people frequently discussed their abandoned identities, lost resources, injustices, ongoing sufferings, and pointless futures. Finally, theme 4 identifies the prevalence of various mental health conditions like Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, helplessness, and anger among these people. The results are discussed in the context of the current autobiographical memory and mental health theories, considering refugee-specific experiences in the asylum process and refugee status.

Social Resilience and Mental Health Among Eritrean Asylum-Seekers in Switzerland

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabra Melamed ◽  
Afona Chernet ◽  
Niklaus D. Labhardt ◽  
Nicole Probst-Hensch ◽  
Constanze Pfeiffer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Pathways To Care ◽  
Social Resilience ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Capital Building

Eritreans comprise the largest group of asylum-seekers in Switzerland. Gaining recognized refugee status can take up to 36 months, during which time asylum-seekers live in a state of legal limbo, intensifying threats to their well-being. Resilience and mental health among this population is poorly understood. We interviewed 10 asylum-seekers residing in Switzerland using qualitative, in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using the Framework Method. Results indicated that mental health was understood as a binary state rather than a continuum and that trusted friends and family were responsible for recognizing and attempting to treat mental health problems. Pathways to care were potentially interrupted for asylum-seekers. Capital building, considered through the lens of social resilience, consisted of language learning, establishing of new individual- and community-level social networks, and proactive symbolic capital building through volunteering. We contextualize the asylum-seekers’ experience into a resilience framework and offer practical recommendations for improving mental health care access.

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