Analysis of Prehospital Care of Migrants Who Arrive Intermittently at the Coasts of Southern Spain

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to identify the sociodemographic characteristics and the most frequent diseases and nursing interventions carried out on migrants arriving by sea at southern Spain. Method: Cross-sectional, descriptive, and retrospective study based on the database of the Spanish Red Cross Intervention Activation System. All migrants who arrived on the coasts of a southern province during 2016 and were assisted by the Red Cross were included. Results: A total of 2027 people were registered, mostly males, aged between 18 and 40 years. Of these, 4.9% required healthcare, and 2.9% were referred to hospital. Highlighted diagnoses were headaches (15.6%), pregnancy (12.8%), and lower-limb wounds (6.4%), and outstanding nursing interventions were “care of wounds” (24.7%), “pain management” (21.9%), and “prenatal care” (15.2%). Statistically significant relationships were found between the diagnosed diseases and gender, geographic area of origin, and seasonal time of the year, as well as between nursing interventions performed and those three variables. Conclusions: Although in general, a good health condition was observed in most of the migrants treated, the most frequent health situations attended were related to dermatological, gynecological, and headache problems. The most performed nursing interventions were related to skin/wound care and promotion of physical comfort, requiring a low need for hospital transfers. Female gender, origin from sub-Saharan Africa and arrival in the summer period carry a greater risk of suffering health problems when migrants reach Spanish coasts.

Rescue medical activities among sea migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean region: lessons to be learned from the 2014–2020 period

“…Another Spanish study on immigrants arriving by sea at southern Spain, during 2016, notices a higher prevalence of health issues on immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa as compared to the ones from Maghreb countries, mainly attributed to the higher duration of their travel and thereby prolonged exposure of themselves to harsh conditions [12]. Cañardo et al [13], operating with the non-governmental organization (NGO) Open Arms, agree on the fact that the majority of the population up until 2018 originated from Sub-Saharan countries and that their health status appeared to be directly linked to the poor and precarious living conditions in transit [13].…”

Health care provided to immigrants in a humanitarian aid center in Spain

“…All the studies coincide in the scarce number of referrals to hospitals due to the reduced severity of the pathologies. According to Méndez‐Rodríguez, 2016, the musculoskeletal pathologies were the most predominant; whereas Ponce‐Blandón et al., 2020 concluded that the most common diagnosis in a study conducted in Almeria corresponds to dermatological pathologies. This coincides with the present study, where the most salient pathologies were the dermatological and the musculoskeletal ones, which might have occurred during the voyage or even be preexisting.…”

“…When contrasting the results of this analysis with other similar results, both differences and similarities are noticed. In the studies compared (Matos‐Castro & Padrón‐Peña, 2008; Méndez‐Rodríguez, 2016; Ponce‐Blandón et al., 2020; Trovato et al., 2016), immigrants from Africa and young men predominate. The reasons were related to attaining better quality of life and getting a job, objectives that were favored by the summer months and by the Mediterranean weather in all of them.…”

“…Among the studies that deal with the emergency prehospital intervention provided to immigrants who arrive by sea is a study conducted in Almeria with all the immigrants that reached its coasts during 2016 (Ponce‐Blandón et al., 2020). In this paper, the most notorious number of immigrant arrivals also corresponds to the summer months, a total of more than 2,200 immigrants.…”

Migration in times of COVID-19

“…In 2020, almost 17,000 migrants have reached the coasts of the Canary Islands, six times more than the year before. People fleeing their home in Africa arrive to the Canary Islands after embarking on a long journey during which for many days they are exposed to extreme climatic conditions, violence, pulmonary toxic substances, hunger and thirst [2][3][4].…”