This cross-sectional study describes the health problems and the health care of asylum seekers and refugees from the point of view of accident & emergency (A & E) physicians at the major hospital in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The physicians filled in a detailed questionnaire and documented all consultations of asylum seekers/refugees and of a control group of patients during eleven weeks (2 x 98 ...

BACKGROUND Even though asylum seekers are considered vulnerable to mental ill-health, knowledge of their suicidal behaviour is limited. The aim of this study was to improve our understanding of factors that influence the clinical assessment of asylum seekers who have attempted suicide compared to the assessment of non-asylum seekers. METHODS The study focused on 88 asylum seekers registered f...

Migration is one of the risk factors for the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO). The increasing influx of migrants challenges local health care systems. To provide evidence for both hospital hygiene measure and empirical antibiotic therapy, we analysed all cultures performed in asylum seekers between January 1st 2014 and December 31st 2015 for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus au...

The number of asylum seekers arriving in Germany has increased rapidly since 2014 and cases of vaccine-preventable diseases at reception centres were reported. Asylum seekers 12 years and older arriving in Lower Saxony were serologically screened for antibodies against measles, rubella and varicella between November 2014 and October 2015. We calculated the seroprevalence from the screening data...

BACKGROUND Research on inequities in access to health care among asylum-seekers has focused on disparities between asylum-seekers and resident populations, but little attention has been paid to potential inequities in access to care within the group of asylum-seekers. We aimed to analyse the principles of horizontal equity (i.e., equal access for equal need irrespective of socioeconomic status,...

With the increasing numbers of immigrants seeking to obtain political asylum, the receiving conditions and the deportability of refused asylum seekers have emerged as major issues. Concern with these questions has been addressed through renewed asylum policies involving expeditious processing of applications, tight restrictions upon the right to work, removal of support or detention for failed ...

To compare Irish asylum seekers to other General Medical Scheme (GMS) patients possessing Irish citizenship in terms of their utilisation of GP services, morbidity patterns and consultation outcomes. A retrospective 1 year study on patient records in two Galway City practices was performed. All asylum seekers who were patients of the two practices were compared with two controls each from a pop...

OBJECTIVE To document physical health problems that asylum seekers experience on settlement in the community and to assess their utilisation of healthcare services and barriers to care, in an international context. METHODS A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies was undertaken according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. MEDLINE, Psy...

BACKGROUND Over 50% of cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the UK occur in people born overseas, and new entrants to the country are screened for TB. A study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and disease characteristics of pulmonary TB in new entrants to the UK seeking political asylum. METHODS A retrospective analysis of the results of screening 53 911 political asylum seekers arriving at...

OBJECTIVES This research explores food insecurity among asylum seekers who are members of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) in Melbourne, Australia. METHODS Structured person-assisted questionnaires were conducted with 56 asylum seekers. The questionnaires examined issues around access to food, cultural appropriateness of available food, transport issues, use of the ASRC Foodbank and q...