The Role of Physicians During Hunger Strikes of Undocumented Migrant Workers in a Non-Custodial Setting

Vanobberghen, Rita; Louckx, Freddy; Depoorter, Anne-Marie; Devroey, Dirk; Vandevoorde, Jan

doi:10.1353/pbm.2019.0006

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Access to public healthcare coverage was only possible if the person had gone through a complex procedure of seeking “urgent medical aid”, however most of the hunger striking migrants did not seek such aid. This meant that buying drugs or carrying out medical testing such as urine or blood exams on the site was almost impossible ( 28 ). Patients who were critical were transferred to the emergency ward of nearby hospitals where they could be given more thorough medical assessments and as well as IV fluids where indicated.…”

Section: Study Context and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This article is part of a wider doctoral research project on this subject. Previously published articles focus on the socio-economic impact of the hunger strike on the participants 5 years later and on the special role of health professionals during a hunger strike in a non-custodial setting ( 28 , 29 ). The aim of the present study is to describe the motivations, the experiences and the concerns of health professionals during the two-month medical monitoring of a hunger strike of undocumented migrants in Brussels and to describe their suggestions for improvement of medical monitoring during a hunger strike.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Between Sympathy, Fascination, and Powerlessness. The Experiences of Health Professionals During the Medical Monitoring of a Hunger Strike Among Undocumented Migrants

Vanobberghen

Lafaut

Louckx

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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In 2014, a group of undocumented migrants started a hunger strike in Brussels. The medical monitoring was mainly done by young, committed health professionals with no prior experience of medical monitoring of people on hunger strike. Following the hunger strike, two focus groups were organized to assess the experiences of the health professionals during the medical monitoring of the hunger strike. Their main motivation for assisting was wanting to help the people on hunger strike but they were also curious about the living conditions among undocumented migrants and the reasons behind starting the strike. They were puzzled by the paradox of hunger strikers putting their life at risk in order to get a better life and obtain a residence permit. They felt conflicted about their own role as a caregiver: they did not know how to deal with patients who did not comply with medical advice, they struggled to build a relationship of mutual trust and feared that they would end up being instrumentalized by the hunger strikers or their environment. Afterwards, some of the health professionals were deeply touched by the experience and there were reports of symptoms of secondary traumatic stress such as re-experiencing and avoidance. During the focus group's discussions, the respondents made suggestions on how to improve the medical monitoring in the event of any future hunger strikes.

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Section: Study Context and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Sympathy, Fascination, and Powerlessness. The Experiences of Health Professionals During the Medical Monitoring of a Hunger Strike Among Undocumented Migrants

Vanobberghen

Lafaut

Louckx

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

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“…(3) The monitoring of a hunger strike in custodial settings (prisons, detention centres and hospitals) has been extensively documented in literature, but little is known about non-custodial settings. (4) A health professional can be involved with hunger strikers in different ways. Employees of a custodial institution will be confronted with the problem of divided loyalty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experiences of health professionals while monitoring a hunger strike among undocumented migrant workers in Brussels.

Vanobberghen

Louckx

Devroey

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background In 2014, in Brussels, a group of undocumented migrant workers started a hunger strike. A loophole in Belgian migration law allows very sick people to stay in the country to recuperate. Undocumented migrants jeopardize their health to be able to obtain a temporary permit and a way out of misery. The monitoring of the hunger strike was done by young, committed but inexperienced health professionals.Methods At the end of the hunger strike, two focus groups were held to find out the dilemmas confronting the health professionals.Results Eighteen out of 29 health professionals participated. They mentioned their curiosity to gain new insights into living conditions among undocumented people and the reasons why they started the strike. They were puzzled by the paradox of wanting to die to get a better life and refusing medical advice. They wondered about their role and commitment as a caregiver. Some were deeply touched by the experience and reacted emotionally while others deepened their engagement. Symptoms of Secondary Traumatic Stress, such as re-experiencing and avoidance were observed. The participants themselves also proposed improvements to the monitoring. Conclusions Even though only a small number of health professionals were questioned, we detected a lot of preoccupations and contradictions in their reactions. To be able to process these a close follow-up and evaluation of the monitoring of a hunger strike is mandatory. We also propose that prevention, early detection and treatment of Secondary Traumatic Stress should become part of formal medical education.

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Access to Care and Facilities for Care

Dell’Anna

Morrone

2020

Skin Disorders in Migrants

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The Role of Physicians During Hunger Strikes of Undocumented Migrant Workers in a Non-Custodial Setting

Cited by 5 publications

References 29 publications

Between Sympathy, Fascination, and Powerlessness. The Experiences of Health Professionals During the Medical Monitoring of a Hunger Strike Among Undocumented Migrants

Between Sympathy, Fascination, and Powerlessness. The Experiences of Health Professionals During the Medical Monitoring of a Hunger Strike Among Undocumented Migrants

The experiences of health professionals while monitoring a hunger strike among undocumented migrant workers in Brussels.

Access to Care and Facilities for Care

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