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Health Care Needs in School-Age Refugee Children

Author

Listed:
  • Anders Hjern

    (Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Karolinska Institutet/Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
    Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet/Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
    Sachsska Children’s Hospital, 116 31 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Stefan Kling

    (Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Lund University Hospital, 221 85 Lund, Sweden)

Abstract

Most European countries have systematic health assessments of refugees with a main focus on infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to describe the broader health care needs identified in newly settled refugee children in a school health setting. The study population consisted of all 609 recently settled Non-European refugee and asylum-seeking children in the age range 6–15 years who were enrolled in the schools of Malmö, Sweden during the autumn semester of 2015, of which 265 had arrived in Sweden unaccompanied. The data were collected in a structured routine intake interview by an experienced school nurse. Almost half of the children had obvious untreated caries. For the unaccompanied children, prominent mental health needs were present in almost one in three. Previously unidentified vision and/or hearing problems were identified in one in ten and around 5% had a daily medication, and 4.5% of the unaccompanied children and 1.2% of the accompanied children were judged to be in need of immediate care and were referred accordingly. Newly settled refugee children in northern Europe have considerable health care needs apart from communicable diseases. School health services have a unique platform to identify and initiate this care.

Suggested Citation

  • Anders Hjern & Stefan Kling, 2019. "Health Care Needs in School-Age Refugee Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-6, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:21:p:4255-:d:282795
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brian D Gushulak & Douglas W MacPherson, 2011. "Health Aspects of the Pre-Departure Phase of Migration," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(5), pages 1-7, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Laura Spagnoli & Antoine Flahault & Pietro Ferrara, 2020. "Migrant Health Burden: Where Do We Stand?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-3, April.
    2. Sneha Bhusari & Chiamaka Ilechukwu & Abdelrahman Elwishahy & Olaf Horstick & Volker Winkler & Khatia Antia, 2020. "Dental Caries among Refugees in Europe: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-11, December.

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