Communicable disease service mapping for refugees and asylum seekers in Wales: An assessment of existing provision and identification of barriers to accessing services

Vougioukalou, Sofia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0788-0373 2023. Communicable disease service mapping for refugees and asylum seekers in Wales: An assessment of existing provision and identification of barriers to accessing services. [Project Report]. Cardiff: Cardiff University. Available at: https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/centre-for-trials-rese...

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Abstract

This mapping exercise looked into the health protection needs of refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) in Wales, mapped out existing services and identified potential public health threats through communicable disease (CD) transmission. It consisted of three data collection activities i) identification of services providing RAS with health care including screening for CDs (n=14) as well as organisations which support RAS psychosocially and whose staff come into direct contact with RAS with CDs (n=19), review of secondary data reports and articles available online (n=12) ii) dissemination of an online questionnaire to organisations in Wales supporting RAS to provide them with an opportunity to describe their work and address the sensitive area of CD transmission (n=9) iii) tailored online and/or face-to-face engagement with professionals to consolidate trends and outliers (n=14). There was a paucity of systematically organised information on RAS CDs in the UK and Wales in particular. Four journal articles and five reports were identified. They highlighted HIV, active and latent TB, and hepatitis B and C as conditions of concern. Nine participants completed the online questionnaire. Five participants worked in the public sector who were directly involved in CD screening. Four participants worked in the third sector who were involved is providing psychosocial support to RAS. The public sector workers were concerned about RAS access to services and CD monitoring. The third-sector participants were not aware of a health protection in relations to CDs and welcome the opportunity to learn more about CDs and draft plans. There is limited literature on overlaps between RAS and other vulnerable groups such as the homeless, men who have sex with men, Roma and Gypsy travellers, and street workers, mainly due to the sensitive and often illegal nature of the activities involved and the reluctance to come forward and have one’s experiences formally documented. Five recommendations emerge as the result of this mapping exercise: 1. Increase the provision of CD awareness opportunities to RAS and people who work with them 2. Appraise health promotion messaging, particularly in light of low literacy, language interpretation and stigma 3. Provide assistance to third-sector organisations to develop health protection plans 4. Develop specialised plans to address CD management among vulnerable groups especially those not accessing mainstream services. 5. Fund research to engage RAS with CDs to better understand how they use services.

Item Type:	Monograph (Project Report)
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Publisher:	Cardiff University
Funders:	Public Health Wales
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	14 June 2024
Last Modified:	27 Jun 2024 14:34
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/169829

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