جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « refugees » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

Quality of life (QoL) refers to social issues such as consumption, income, education, housing, health, medical care, etc. However, this concept has been investigated less in the lives of immigrants in the 21st century. This research examines the QoL from the experiences of the refugees living in a UN camp in Sarvestan City, Iran. We hope that this investigation is used for further planning.

This is a qualitative content analysis study. The participants were chosen using purposeful sampling with maximum diversity. In this study, in-depth and semi-structured interviews were performed with 30 residents of this Afghan camp (18 men and 12 women) aged over 18 years in 2024. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and analyzed using MAXQDA software, version 10. Finally, after reviewing the transcripts several times, the initial codes, subthemes, and main themes were extracted and developed.

The participants in this study were Afghan refugees living in a UN camp in Iran. They were 30 men and women living in the camp. After completing the interviews and analyzing the data, 415 open codes and 3 main themes appeared. The 3 main themes included QoL, quality of services, and challenges and obstacles. Subthemes related to the QoL included health, security, economic status, social acceptance, and education. Subthemes related to service quality in various forms included comprehensive services, accessibility, usefulness, and appropriateness. Subthemes related to the third topic included financial deficits, social barriers, and cultural-ethnic problems. The immigrants’ demands for improving the QoL included providing services to high-risk groups of refugees, continuing the education of the youth and adolescents, providing necessary equipment and settings for health and culture, and improving employment status.

In this study, it was found that the obstacles and problems were raised in the form of a lack of financial resources, social barriers, and cultural and ethnic issues. Lack of suitable jobs, low income, inflation in Iran (due to recent sanctions), and unavailability of necessary medicines are among the severe obstacles to improving the quality of health and treatment of immigrant diseases.

As a vulnerable group in HIV control programs, immigrants face various obstacles to HIV testing. Despite the effectiveness of peer interventions on health promotion in HIV testing, relatively little is known about how these interventions work. This realist review aims to understand why, how, and under what conditions peer interventions can improve immigrants’ HIV testing uptake.

We followed the steps suggested by Pawson and colleagues for conducting the realist review. To test a initial program theory, we first systematically searched databases of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane, as well as the websites of UNAIDS, World Bank, Global Fund, WHO, and IOM. After data extraction and quality appraisal, data synthesis was conducted to explain the intervention pathways corresponding to context-mechanism-outcome configurations.

Seventeen studies were included in the review. Peer interventions for improving immigrants’ HIV testing uptake worked through four pathways: Following the improvement of communications (as a proximal mechanism): 1) increasing awareness, 2) reduced stigma, 3) improved support, and 4) increased access to services could lead to improved HIV testing uptake among immigrants. The identified mechanisms were influenced by three groups of individual/ interpersonal, service delivery, and structural factors.

Peer interventions with multiple strategies to be designed and implemented considering the barriers to HIV testing and also moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches can successfully improve the immigrants’ HIV testing uptake. The refined program theory in this study can help the healthcare providers and policy-makers promote the immigrants’ HIV testing uptake and reduce the risk of disease transmission.

The likelihood of poor health outcomes for refugees is increased due to a variety of complicated causes. Lack of access to high-quality care during resettlement is frequently cited by migrants. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the quality of primary care services from the perspective of refugees and migrants.   

This cross-sectional study was conducted in three health networks affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2021. Data were collected by using a self-administrative questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were checked and confirmed. The questionnaires were randomly completed by 280 migrants and refugees. Data were analyzed by using Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney U, Spearman correlation, exploratory factor analysis, and Cronbach's α with SPSS 22.   

According to the results, the overall service quality was 3.86 out of 5. The highest and lowest mean scores were related to efficiency (4.12 ±0.64) and tangibility (3.28 ±0.39). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between the perception of service quality and gender, education, residence area, and the rate of center visits (P < 0.05).   

The quality of services was generally rated favorably by the refugees. Managers and decision-makers are recommended to allocate enough funds to equip and upgrade the amenities at health centers to increase the quality of services.

Bachground:

 Worldwide, more than 79.5 million people are forcibly displaced, including a significant number of migrant and refugee families with children. Migration and refugeedom affect these families in different dimensions, such as mental, physical and spiritual health. Identifying family needs and enhancing parenting skills can improve family cohesion and health, as well as smooth integration into the host country. This review is part of the Erasmus+ funded project- IENE 8 (Intercultural Education for Nurses in Europe) aiming at empowering migrant and refugee families regarding parenting skills.

This was a scoping review of literature. The IENE 8 partner countries (Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, and United Kingdom) searched for peer reviewed papers, grey literature and mass media reports at international, European and national level. The time period for the search of scientific and grey literature was between2013-2018, and for mass media, it was between 2016 and 2018.

124 relevant sources were identified. They included 33 Peer reviewed papers, 47 Grey literature documents and 44 mass media reports. This revealed the importance of understanding the needs of migrant families with children.

It is evident from the literature that there is a need to support refugee parents to adjust their existing skill and to empower them to develop new ones. Healthcare and social services professionals have an essential role in improving the refugees' parenting skills. This can be done by developing and implementing family-centered and culturally-sensitive intervention programs.

Safe childbirth is a health concern among refugees. This study was conducted to determine factors which influence safe delivery among Pregnant Afghan Refugees (PAR) based on the Health Promotion Model (HPM).
This descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study included 160 pregnant Afghan refugees living in Sirjan, a city in Kerman, Iran. The data were collected using a 45-item questionnaire in three parts (demographic information, constructs of Pender’s HPM, and safe childbirth behavior questions). After data collection, all data were analyzed by SPSS19, through descriptive statistics and linear regression.
Health promotion model constructs (perceived self-efficacy, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, perceived social support, and interpersonal norms) had direct and significant effects on promoting safe childbirth behavior (P<0.05), and perceived social support was the most influential factor.
Strengthening health-promoting behaviors including perceived social support, perceived self-efficacy, perceived barriers, interpersonal norms, and perceived benefits can help improve safe delivery among Pregnant Afghan Refugees (PARs) in Iran.

We aimed to identify the indicators and criteria to locate temporary shelters for conflict refugees.

This systematic review evaluated the full-text of the related articles in international electronic databases, such as Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Cochran, and Google Scholar from the beginning and without time limit to 1 June 2019. In addition, this search was based on a strategy developed by the researchers. The studies were selected regardless of their methods and two data extraction forms were used to extract the most relevant and important information.

Among 10124 cases of primary documents, 38 articles were selected, and 25 articles were analyzed in full-text. Totally, 45 indicators were identified and classified into two main categories of physical and non-physical indicators with six subcategories of land ownership, host government, access to infrastructures, site safety, land characteristics, and economic, social, and cultural considerations.

The selection of temporary shelters for the conflict refugees requires the identification of all the specific influential factors not properly addressed. The final indicators obtained in our review could be incorporated into the development of the models required in this regard.

Information about the refugees' experiences in the health care system is needed to improve the quality of health care delivered. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of Communication Apprehension (CA) and Fear of Physician (FoP) in the Afghan refugee women referred to the Iranian health care clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020 in Rafsanjan, Iran.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted between March-July 2020, two hundred forty Afghan women in Rafsanjan, Iran, were selected using convenience sampling. Data collection included the demographic, Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24: score range of 24-120), and Fear of Physician (FoP: score range of 5-20) questionnaires. Data were analyzed using an Independent t-test, as well as ANOVA, Chi-square, and Fisher exact tests. The significance level was p<0.05.

The mean age of the participants was 28.81 ± 7.21 years old, and their ages ranged from 16 to 60; further, 97.9% of them were married. Based on the results, the overall mean score of PRCA was 67.07±15.68. Moderate to severe communication apprehension was revealed in 199 participants (82.9%), while 235 participants (97.9%) had moderate to severe fear of physician.

Although many factors could contribute to CA and FoP, as the COVID pandemic had just spread and fear of this unknown virus was at its very peak during this study, the researchers assume that the high rate of CA and FoP level could be related to the COVID pandemic. It is suggested that educational workshops should be held for medical care providers to prevent further communication problems.

One of the important aspects in the field of refugee health is the availability of primary health care, and the quality improvement of health care requires identifying barriers and facilitators. The present study aimed to identify obstacles and facilitators of providing primary health care to Afghan refugees from the perspective of health care providers.

In this qualitative study, a semi-structured interview was conducted based on purposeful sampling with the involvement of 21 managers and experts in primary health care centers. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method and MaxQDA.

Data analysis led to the production of 4 main themes: (1) challenges while providing primary health care, with 10 subthemes; (2) challenges after providing care, with 4 subthemes; (3) opportunities, with 3 subthemes; and (4) solutions, with 6 subthemes.

According to the results of this study, identifying the challenges and providing opportunities and solutions to existing problems seem to be effective steps in the quality improvement of providing primary health care to refugees.

Although it is widely accepted that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has adversely affected the Global South’s most vulnerable refugee communities, they have received little attention. There have been gaps in testing, which is fundamental to treat and isolate patients and make data-driven decisions to protect the refugee community. Therefore, it is imperative to holistically implement policies to curtail COVID-19 in refugee camps to ensure that refugees are safe and protected from the pandemic. Processes for timely diagnosis and treatment, quick isolation and contact tracing are essential to keep refugees safe. Furthermore, it is crucial to encourage protective behaviours and raise awareness about hygiene and social prevention to dampen disease transmission. Refugees in the Global South have been disproportionately affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing financial hardship and social injustice throughout. Refugees in Africa have also faced threats to their security, being subjected to torture, disappearance, or even killings in their host countries. The pandemic has exposed gender inequalities, with females being the most affected, and health inequities in the refugee community in Africa. There is a need for international organizations like the African Union, United Nations (UN) agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and other stakeholders to take serious action regarding the refugee situation in Africa. Food aid for refugees in Africa should be increased as quickly as possible and refugees’ security must be guaranteed. Of equal importance, there must be justice for the death or disappearance of refugees. It is imperative to end discrimination against refugees and support the promotion of gender equity

Refugees’ access to quality healthcare services might be compromised, which can in turn hinder universal health coverage (UHC), and achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), ultimately.

This article aims to illustrate the status of refugees’ access to healthcare and main initiatives to improve their health status in Iran.

This is a mixed-method study with two consecutive phases: qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative phase, through a review of documents and semi-structured interviews with 40 purposively-selected healthcare providers, the right of refugees to access healthcare services in the Iranian health system was examined. In the quantitative phase, data on refugees’ insurance coverage and their utilization from community-based rehabilitation (CBR) projects were collected and analyzed.

There are international and upstream policies, laws and practical projects that support refugees’ health in Iran. Refugees and immigrants have free access to most healthcare services provided in the PHC network in Iran. They can also access curative and rehabilitation services, the costs of which depend on their health insurance status. In 2015, the government allowed the inclusion of all registered refugees in the Universal Public Health Insurance (UPHI) scheme. Moreover, the mean number of disabled refugees using CBR services was 786 (±389.7). The mean number of refugees covered by the UPHI scheme was 112,000 (±30404.9).

The United Nations’ SDGs ask to strive for peace and reducing inequity. Along its pathway towards UHC, despite limited resources received from the international society, the government of Iran has taken some fundamental steps to serve refugees similar to citizens of Iran. Although the initiative looks promising, more is still required to bring NGOs on board and fulfill the vision of leaving no one behind.

Malaria infection is still one of the most important public health concerns globally. The aim of this study was to evaluate retrospective epidemiological study of malaria in Khash City, Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran from 1999 to 2016.

This was a retrospective study, which collected official data of 26-year trend of malaria in Khash, Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran.

The data showed that over 26 years, 5015 cases of malaria were identified in Khash; the highest number of cases was reported in 1995 with 846 patients and the lowest number was in 2016 with one patient. A total of 419 patients were Iranian (52.2%) and 383 patients (47.8%) were non-Iranian including: Afghans (323 patients, 40.3%) and Pakistanis (60 patients, 7.5%).  During 17 years, 279200 blood slides for malaria were prepared in Khash of which 5014 slides were found to be positive. The highest and lowest ABER were in 2003-2004 (63.69) and 2016-2017 (0.30), respectively. Plasmodium vivax was identified as the main and dominant causative agent of disease in all infected patients.

The results revealed a significant decline in malaria incidence rate in Khash. However, based on Iran’s vast borders with malaria endemic countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) and illegal immigrants coming from these nations to country, the risk of malaria outbreaks must be considered seriously and the control and/or screening programs should be conducted constantly until the complete elimination of the infection.

In the editorial, “A Crisis of Humanitarianism: Refugees at the Gates of Europe,” Marianna Fotaki elegantly highlights the changing dynamics of governmental policy toward refugees, forced migrants into Europe and the move away from the principles of humanitarianism.1 The perceived threats to economy, security, and concerns of globalization and multiculturalism often are manifested as a “cry of wolf ” about alleged health risks. This in effect has raised concerns of inadmissibility on health-related grounds and calls for stricter legislation for determining who is eligible for legal permanent residence, precipitated in part by the “public charge” debate occurring in the United States.2 As Marianna notes “anti-migration rhetoric is now a permanent fixture of European politics.”

Military conflict has been an ongoing determinant of inequitable immunisation coverage in many low- and middle-income countries, yet the impact of conflict on the attainment of global health goals has not been fully addressed. This review will describe and analyse the association between conflict, immunisation coverage and vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreaks, along with country specific strategies to mitigate the impact in 16 countries. We cross-matched immunisation coverage and VPD data in 2014 for displaced and refugee populations. Data on refugee or displaced persons was sourced from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) database, and immunisation coverage and disease incidence data from World Health Organization (WHO) databases. Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) databases provided additional data on national and sub-national coverage. The 16 countries were selected because they had the largest numbers of registered UNHCR “persons of interest” and received new vaccine support from Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI), the Vaccine Alliance. We used national planning and reporting documentation including immunisation multiyear plans, health system strengthening strategies and GAVI annual progress reports (APRs) to assess the impact of conflict on immunisation access and coverage rates, and reviewed strategies developed to address immunisation program shortfalls in conflict settings. We also searched the peer-reviewed literature for evidence that linked immunisation coverage and VPD outbreaks with evidence of conflict. We found that these 16 countries, representing just 12% of the global population, were responsible for 67% of global polio cases and 39% of global measles cases between 2010 and 2015. Fourteen out of the 16 countries were below the global average of 85% coverage for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT3) in 2014. We present data from countries where the onset of conflict has been associated with sudden drops in national and sub-national immunisation coverage. Tense security conditions, along with damaged health infrastructure and depleted human resources have contributed to infrequent outreach services, and delays in new vaccine introductions and immunisation campaigns. These factors have in turn contributed to pockets of low coverage and disease outbreaks in sub-national areas affected by conflict. Despite these impacts, there was limited reference to the health needs of conflict affected populations in immunisation planning and reporting documents in all 16 countries. Development partner investments were heavily skewed towards vaccine provision and working with partner governments, with comparatively low levels of health systems support or civil partnerships. Global and national policy and planning focus is required on the service delivery needs of conflict affected populations, with increased investment in health system support and civil partnerships, if persistent immunisation inequities in conflict affected areas are to be addressed.

Refugees tend to have greater vulnerability compared to the general population reporting greater need for physical, emotional, or dental problems compared to the general population. Despite the importance of creating strong primary care supports for these patients, it has been demonstrated that there is a significant gap in accessing primary care providers who are willing to accept the refugee population. These have resulted in bottlenecks in the transition or bridge clinics and have left patients orphaned without a primary care provider. This in turn results in higher use of emergency service and other unnecessary costs to the healthcare system. Currently there are few studies that have explored these challenges from primary care provider perspectives and very few to none from patient perspectives. A novel collaborative implementation initiative in primary healthcare (PHC) is seeking to improve primary medical care for the refugee population by creating a globally recommended transition or beacon clinic to support care needs of new arrivals and transitions to primary care providers. We discuss the innovative elements of the clinic model in this paper.