Dataset Information

A refugee camp in the centre of Europe: clinical characteristics of asylum seekers arriving in Brussels.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:In the summer of 2015, the exodus of Syrian war refugees and saturation of refugee camps in neighbouring countries led to the influx of asylum-seekers in European countries, including Belgium. This study aims to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of asylum seekers who arrived in a huddled refugee camp, in the centre of a well-developed country with all medical facilities. METHODS:Using a descriptive cross-sectional study design, physicians of Médecins du Monde prospectively registered age, gender, origin, medical symptoms and diagnoses of all patients presenting to an erected field hospital in Brussels in September 2015. Diagnoses were post hoc categorised according to the International Classification of Diseases. RESULTS:Of 4037 patients examined in the field hospital, 3907 were included and analysed for this study. Over 11% of patients suffered from injuries, but these were outnumbered by the proportion of patients with respiratory (36%), dental (9%), skin (9%) and digestive (8%) diagnoses. More than 49% had features of infections at the time of the consultation. CONCLUSIONS:Asylum seekers arriving in a refugee camp in Brussels after a long and hazardous journey suffer mostly from respiratory, dental, skin and digestive diseases. Still, one in seven suffers from injury. These findings, consistent with other reports, should be anticipated when composing emergency medical teams and interagency emergency health or similar kits to be used in a field hospital, even in a Western European country. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:ISRCTN13523620, Results.

SUBMITTER: van Berlaer G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5168497 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A refugee camp in the centre of Europe: clinical characteristics of asylum seekers arriving in Brussels.

van Berlaer Gerlant G Bohle Carbonell Francisca F Manantsoa Sofie S de Béthune Xavier X Buyl Ronald R Debacker Michel M Hubloue Ives I

BMJ open 20161124 11

<h4>Background</h4>In the summer of 2015, the exodus of Syrian war refugees and saturation of refugee camps in neighbouring countries led to the influx of asylum-seekers in European countries, including Belgium. This study aims to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of asylum seekers who arrived in a huddled refugee camp, in the centre of a well-developed country with all medical facilities.<h4>Methods</h4>Using a descriptive cross-sectional study design, physicians of Médecins ...[more]

PMID: 27884856

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Project description:IntroductionAsylum seekers and refugees are at an elevated risk of self-harm, with younger age and traumatic experiences found to further increase such risk. Despite this, evidence regarding self-harm among unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugee minors has not been synthesised. As self-harm among minors is a risk factor for a range of adverse clinical and social outcomes, including suicide, such information may help to inform evidence-based prevention strategies among these vulnerable populations. This systematic review will synthesise findings from the literature regarding the prevalence, methods and characteristics of self-harm, including risk and protective factors, among unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugee minors internationally.Methods and analysisWe searched key electronic databases (PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE) and grey literature for relevant studies published in English from database inception to 10 February 2023. Our primary outcome is self-harm among unaccompanied asylum seekers and/or refugee minors. With the exception of single-case studies, clinical trials and case-control studies, we will include all types of study design that examine the prevalence of self-harm in unaccompanied asylum seekers and/or refugee minors. We will exclude dissertations, conference abstracts, letters, book chapters, editorials, study registrations, registered protocols and qualitative studies. Only studies reporting on participants aged <18 years will be eligible for inclusion. The Methodological Standard for Epidemiological Research Scale will be used to assess the quality of included studies. If there are sufficient studies and homogeneity between them, we will conduct meta-analyses to calculate pooled estimates of self-harm rates, as well as comparisons between subgroups of relevance. If the studies do not report sufficient data, or there is substantial heterogeneity, we will provide a narrative synthesis of the findings.Ethics and disseminationThis review is exempt from ethics approval. Our findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.Prospero registration numberCRD42021292709.

Dataset Information

A refugee camp in the centre of Europe: clinical characteristics of asylum seekers arriving in Brussels.

Publications

A refugee camp in the centre of Europe: clinical characteristics of asylum seekers arriving in Brussels.

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