Politics and Safety: Health Care for Immigrants.
Journal Title: Ελληνικό ηλεκτρονικό Περιοδικό Περιεγχειρητικής Ιατρικής - Year 2018, Vol 17, Issue 0
Abstract
Europe is currently experiencing an unprecedented influx of refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants. More than 1.5 million people arrived in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) in 2015, fleeing countries affected by war, conflict or economic crisis. Member States are increasingly faced with the need to address the public health consequences of this massive arrival of migrants from various parts of the world, which puts national health systems under pressure. The migrant and refugee crisis in Europe has reached a critical point. The great majority of migrants and refugees are in a good physical condition; however, many are challenged with medical and mental problems, social isolation and economic devastation. There are different migrant groups with different rights to access of care. Many European countries are experiencing an increased wave of migrants and refugees and should consider therefore assessing their overall preparedness and response capacity for the management of the disease burden in this population which should be made on the actual migration flows, global disease patterns and consequent needs. Public health interventions in refugee camp settings will not only benefit migrants and refugees at individual level but also assist their integration in to the new home countries. In particular, it is important to consider the economic benefit of early interventions. Intersectoral and international collaboration is important to meet the heterogeneous needs of these populations which could foster integration. Providing newly arrived migrants and refugees a more systematic health-reception, based on a holistic approach by a multidisciplinary team, will not only benefit migrants and refugees but also will protect the public health of host countries. European Member States are facing a challenge to provide accessible and effective health care services for immigrants. It remains unclear how best to achieve this and what characterizes good practice in increasingly multicultural societies across Europe. Although local political debate, level of immigration and the nature of local health care systems influenced the selection and rating of factors within each country, there was a broad European consensus on most factors. Yet, discordance remained both within countries, e.g. on the need for prioritizing cultural differences, and between countries, e.g. on the need for more consistent governance of health care services for immigrants. Experts across Europe asserted the right to culturally sensitive health care for all immigrants. There is a broad consensus among experts about the major principles of good practice that need to be implemented across Europe. However, there also is some disagreement both within and between countries on specific issues that require further research and debate.
Authors and Affiliations
Maryli Pasakiotou
Keywords
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- EP ID EP476988
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