Dataset Information

Health of Syrian unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) at first medical examination in Germany in comparison to UASA from other world regions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The war in Syria has led to the biggest refugee crisis of our time. Unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) are a particularly vulnerable subgroup of refugees. This study aims to describe the weight status, health behaviour and disease spectrum of Syrian UASA in comparison to UASA from other world regions.

Methods

The study was conducted as a prospective cross-sectional analysis of health metrics and diagnoses from 346 UASA (78% male; mean age 16?years) between 2011 and 2017. The data was collected in an outpatient clinic for internal and tropical medicine during a systematic medical examination after arrival. Descriptive and bivariate analyses stratified by gender and region/country of origin were performed.

Results

The general health status of the UASA in most cases was good. Compared to other UASA Syrian UASA had the highest underweight prevalence (16.7%) (p?=?.013) and the second highest smoking prevalence (37.9%) (p?ConclusionTailored screening for diseases as well as for health behaviour immediately after arrival in Germany is needed to reduce the individual burden of disease and to offer targeted preventive measures.

SUBMITTER: Laukamp A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6390530 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Health of Syrian unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) at first medical examination in Germany in comparison to UASA from other world regions.

Laukamp Annika A Prüfer-Krämer Luise L Fischer Florian F Krämer Alexander A

BMC international health and human rights 20190226 1

<h4>Background</h4>The war in Syria has led to the biggest refugee crisis of our time. Unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) are a particularly vulnerable subgroup of refugees. This study aims to describe the weight status, health behaviour and disease spectrum of Syrian UASA in comparison to UASA from other world regions.<h4>Methods</h4>The study was conducted as a prospective cross-sectional analysis of health metrics and diagnoses from 346 UASA (78% male; mean age 16 years) between ...[more]

PMID: 30808358

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Project description:BackgroundAsylum-seeking children and adolescents (ASCs) who have resettled in Western countries show elevated rates of psychological distress, including Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS), depression, and anxiety. Most longitudinal data suggest a relatively stable course of symptoms during the first years in exile. However, no longitudinal examination of the mental health of ASCs, who resettled in Europe in the wake of the 2015-17 European migrant crisis, has been conducted so far.MethodsA prospective cohort study looked at 98 ASCs who resettled in southern Germany throughout 2015-17. They mainly came from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, and Iraq. Baseline assessments were undertaken 22 months, on average, after resettlement, and follow-up assessments 1 year thereafter. Seventy-two ASCs could be secured for the follow-up. The measures included self-report questionnaires screening for PTSS, depression, anxiety, externalizing behavior, and post-migration factors that were administered in an interview-like setting. Results were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.ResultsParticipating ASCs reported on average eight potentially traumatic experiences and high levels of psychological distress at baseline that had significantly declined at follow-up. At follow-up, rates of clinically significant symptoms ranged from 9.7% (externalizing behavior) to 37.5% (PTSS). There was considerable individual variation in symptom change resulting in multiple mental health trajectories. ASCs whose asylum applications had been rejected presented significantly more symptoms than ASCs whose asylum applications had been accepted between assessments. Baseline psychopathology and asylum status predicted follow-up symptom severity.ConclusionsIn contrast to earlier studies, the symptom severity in this sample of ASCs in Germany ameliorated between assessments. Decisions on the asylum applications of ASCs are thought to contribute to the course of symptoms. Since levels of psychological distress were still high, dissemination and implementation of appropriate treatments for ASCs is crucial.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Migrant health has become an essential part of public health. According to the World Health Organization, many health systems in Europe have not yet adapted adequately to the needs of asylum-seekers, which might result in untimely and inefficient health care for asylum-seeking patients. The aim of this study was to assess the number of preventable hospital admissions and emergency department visits in asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking pediatric patients. METHODS:This is a retrospective, hospital-based study. The study was done at the University Children's Hospital Basel in Switzerland. Patients admitted or presenting to the emergency department were included and split into the groups of asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking patients. All admissions and emergency-department visits were extracted from the administrative electronic health records from 1st Jan 2016-31st Dec 2017. The main outcome was the proportion of admissions due to ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions (which refer to conditions for which admission can be prevented by early interventions in primary care) in asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking patients. Ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions were defined by a validated list of ICD-10 codes. The secondary objective was to assess the number of preventable emergency-department visits by asylum-seeking patients defined as proportion of visits with a non-urgent triage score. RESULTS:A total of 75'199 hospital visits were included, of which 63'405 were emergency department visits and 11'794 were admissions. Ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions accounted for 12.1% (18/149) of asylum-seeking and 10.9% (1270/11645) of non-asylum seeking patients' admissions. Among the emergency department visits by asylum-seeking patients, non-urgent conditions accounted for 82.2% (244/297). CONCLUSIONS:Admissions due to ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions are comparable in asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking children, suggesting few delayed presentations to ambulatory care facilities. Strategies to prevent non-urgent visits at pediatric emergency department facilities are needed.

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Dataset Information

Health of Syrian unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) at first medical examination in Germany in comparison to UASA from other world regions.

Background

Methods

Results

Publications

Health of Syrian unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) at first medical examination in Germany in comparison to UASA from other world regions.

Similar Datasets

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