An interim report of health needs assessment of asylum seekers in Sunderland and North Tyneside

Abstract

A health needs assessment questionnaire was developed and administered to 397 asylum seekers, 291 males and 106 females, in Sunderland and North Tyneside in the North East of England. The data from the questionnaires were analysed using SPSS Version 10. Individuals retained a copy of their own questionnaire to be used as a hand held record. There was much heterogeneity of country of origin, culture, religion and previous employment and language backgrounds within the sample. A range of health needs was identified which has implications for healthcare provision. Vaccination rates were low as was screening for tuberculosis and cervical cancer. Many asylum seekers identified symptoms related to mental health and requested help in this area. Access to dental treatment was an area of high priority for many respondents.

The physical health status, service utilisation and barriers to accessing care for asylum seekers residing in the community: a systematic review of the literature

“…36,42,46 Asylum seekers' utilisation of preventative health services, such as screening, health education and immunisation, as well as dental care, allied health and other specialist services were limited or not commonly measured. The few available data suggest that less than 25% of female asylum seekers in Blackwell et al and Rogstad and Dale reported having undergone a cervical pap screening test (v. 62% reported in the host population), 29,41 and overall preventative assessment, including general check-up and health education, occurred in 1 out of 20 encounters in CorreaVelez et al's study in Australia. 31 Finally, in comparing the consumption and costs of health services by asylum seekers with a local comparable sample, Bischoff et al 27 found that the mean (AEs.d.)…”

“…29,32,37,40,42 Prevalence differed between study populations, but symptoms and medical diagnoses were commonly noted for the following conditions: dental; headache or migraine; musculoskeletal; neck, back or shoulder pain; dermatological; respiratory; and gastrointestinal problems. Four studies focussed specifically on sexual and reproductive health issues.…”

“…[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] Compared with other population groups using the same outcome measures, perception of poor general health status was much worse among asylum seekers (around 60% 32,42 ) than comparative refugee samples (around 42% 32,42 ), immigrants (39% 32 ) or a general, non-immigrant population (18% 32 ).…”

“…28 Only one study reported on dental needs, and found that 68.5% of asylum seekers selfreported a need for dental consultation. 29 …”

“…Of the 23 quantitative studies included in the review, 11 provided data on asylum seekers' utilisation of health services, of which five were based on self-reported measures, 29,36,41,42,46 and six studies used objective measures (medical records or clinical data). 27,28,31,38,47,48 The proportion of asylum seekers accessing primary care services (facilitated by a nurse or general practitioner) ranged from 55 to 73% in the last 2 months 36,42,46 to 81% over a 3-year timeframe.…”