The Health and Well-being of Asylum Seekers and New Refugees

Author(s):  
Rebecca Farrington ◽  
Anna Bailey
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrine Syppli Kohl

Abstract This qualitative study combined the approaches of Foucault and Goffman to investigate the consequences of a “roll-out” neoliberal “activation” programme on Denmark’s reception of asylum-seekers. The analysis found that the activation programme is an ambiguous technology of power intended to shape asylum-seekers into productive citizens by simultaneously disciplining them and improving their health and well-being, while using their labour to reduce costs. The strategic interactions in the job centre reflected the ambiguities created by these oft-incongruent aims, and activation caused conflicts as it amplified activities experienced as meaningless and humiliating. I argue that these consequences stem from the ambiguity, uncertainty, and trouble produced at the intersection of competing projects of rule in a “sensitive space”, and that the individualisation of responsibility for their own marginalisation, simultaneously serve to exclude asylum-seekers and to confine them to categories that license continued institutional discipline. Thereby, the intervention feeds cyclical process of failed integration and ill-fated interventions. Indeed, by individualising the responsibility for integration, such interventions depoliticise the marginalisation of citizens of immigrant decent and legitimise efforts to reduce immigration by fuelling problematisations of immigrants as expensive, deviant, and less employable.


Author(s):  
Ronald Labonté ◽  
Arne Ruckert

Migration, the movement of people from birthplace to other-place, whether within their own borders or internationally, is one of globalization’s leitmotifs. The scale of migration has risen rapidly in recent decades, some of it the ‘pull’ of opportunities in other countries, but much of it the ‘push’ of poverty, unemployment, conflicts, and environmental degradations that make life unlivable for many. Migration can improve the health and well-being of migrants, and the remittances sent home by overseas émigrés can contribute to domestic poverty reduction in the countries they leave. But forced migration, migrant exploitation, and increasing barriers to the lesser-skilled irregular migrants or asylum-seekers most able to benefit by moving abroad have given rise to new global imperatives to ‘manage migration’ ethically and effectively. Both men and women may be vulnerable to exploitation along the migratory path, but women face additional gendered discriminations in the risk of assault and trafficking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivien L. Hajak ◽  
Srishti Sardana ◽  
Helen Verdeli ◽  
Simone Grimm

Background: Since the onset of the 2015 European refugee crisis, ~4. 46 million people have sought asylum in the European Union, with Germany logging the largest share of all asylum applications. In addition to the severe adversities before and during flight, the process of settling into a new environment involves stressors that affect psychological well-being and mental health. The aim of this systematic review was to examine contextual factors during post-migration that influence the mental health and well-being of asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) in Germany.Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted across multiple databases for English and German studies published between 2015 and 2020 with index keywords.Results: From a total of 303 articles, 156 duplicates were removed and, after title review, another 87 were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. After assessing the abstracts of the remaining 60 articles, 39 were excluded. Full texts of 21 articles were assessed for eligibility and after excluding 8 articles, 13 articles were included in the review. The results demonstrate high rates of psychological distress among ASRs in Germany and the significant influence of contextual factors on their mental health and psychological well-being. The risk factors for poor mental health include an uncertain asylum status, living in shared asylum accommodations, separation from the nuclear family, lack of German language skills, integration issues and discrimination, while employment is a protective factor.Conclusion: Asylum seekers and refugees have high prevalence rates of psychological distress directly influenced by contextual factors in Germany. Based on these findings, policy makers are strongly recommended to apply preventive strategies to reduce mental health problems of ASRs in Germany.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulla Björnberg

Research has suggested that social networks are important resources for children as well as for adults to resist health problems. For asylum seeking children social networking might be hard to accomplish due to constraints linked to social and legal contexts in the host country. Constraints can also be linked to the family situation and the circumstances they have to cope with in everyday life. The situation of parents, in particular mothers, is important for the coping of children. The over arching research objective is to identify factors that are important for well being of children seeking asylum and to study how they cope with their experiences as asylum seekers. The tension between excluding experiences and expectations regarding how the situation of the child and it's family should improve or deteriorate after the flight is for a child a constitutive reference for how coping strategies are developed. In the analysis I draw on theoretical concepts of resilience, social capital, trust and social recognition. This paper draws on results from an interdisciplinary research project Asylum-seeking children's welfare, health and well-being. Gothenburg Research on Asylum seeking Children in Europe (GRACE), Goteborg University and Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenburg. The study was financed by the European Refugee Fund. The empirical data are based on qualitative interviews with parents and children who have waited for decisions regarding permanent residence for several months and sometimes more than a year.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e025465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clelia Clini ◽  
Linda J M Thomson ◽  
Helen J Chatterjee

ObjectiveDrawing on a growing body of research suggesting that taking part in artistic and cultural activities benefits health and well-being, the objective was to develop a participatory action research (PAR) method for assessing the impact of arts interventions on forcibly displaced people, and identify themes concerning perceived benefits of such programmes.DesignA collaborative study following PAR principles of observation, focus groups and in-depth semistructured interviews.SettingLondon-based charity working with asylum seekers and refugees.ParticipantsAn opportunity sample (n=31; 6 males) participated in focus groups comprising refugees/asylum seekers (n=12; 2 males), volunteers (n=4; 1 males) and charity staff (n=15; 3 males). A subset of these (n=17; 3 males) participated in interviews comprising refugees/asylum seekers (n=7; 1 males), volunteers (n=7; 1 males) and charity staff (n=3; 1 males).ResultsFocus group findings showed that participants articulated the impact of creative activities around three main themes: skills, social engagement and personal emotions that were explored during in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted in NVivo 11 and findings showed that artistic and cultural activities impacted positively by helping participants find a voice, create support networks and learn practical skills useful in the labour market.ConclusionsThe study expanded on arts and well-being research by exploring effects of cultural and creative activities on the psychosocial well-being of refugees and asylum seekers. By focusing on the relationship between arts, well-being and forced displacement, the study was instrumental in actively trying to change the narrative surrounding refugees and asylum seekers, often depicted in negative terms in the public sphere.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas G. Procter

This paper examines mental health issues surrounding Tory Party plans to radically change Britains' immigration laws making the processes attendant upon seeking asylum tougher for those who try. By looking beyond taken-forgranted assumptions associated with refugees and asylum seeking, a number of questions emerge from the Tory Party Plans. The mental health implications of the Tory Party plan for mandatory detention and processing according to quota rather than need are that individual suffering of asylum seekers is likely to be detrimental to individual mental health and well-being.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Fish ◽  
Olivia Fakoussa

Purpose Pre- and post-immigration trauma and stress make refugees a particularly vulnerable group in terms of mental health and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to describe a listening project undertaken in Plymouth, UK, which sought the views of 17 service users (n=12) and staff (n=5) from four local support organisations, for people with refugee and asylum seeker status and those with diverse cultural backgrounds. Aims of the project were to expand Western-centric understandings regarding beneficial support and the promotion of good mental health and well-being in this population. Design/methodology/approach Responses were subjected to thematic analysis, co-conducted with a service user. Participants were asked about their personal understandings of mental health and well-being and what supports or hinders well-being. Findings The findings enabled the development of a model incorporating 10 threads which support and 9 holes that can hinder well-being. Research limitations/implications The relatively small numbers of participants compared with the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees in Plymouth may not be fully representative of the general population in Plymouth and the UK. Originality/value Despite increasing cultural diversity within the UK population, available mental health services exist mainly as developed from a Western psychological model of mental distress and treatment. This research provides services with a more informed understanding of mental health for asylum seekers and refugees. As such it is of value towards future service design in Plymouth and the UK. Findings also contributed to a successful funding bid to set up a peer-led support project in the city.


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