Refugee and asylum-seeker children and health problems in the city of Duzce, Türkiye

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q2 PEDIATRICS Child Care Health and Development Pub Date : 2024-06-26 DOI:10.1111/cch.13295

Hatice Mine Cakmak, Kenan Kocabay, Ramazan Cahit Temizkan, Sevim Turay, Sukriye Ozde, Fatih Kurt, Nadide Melike Sav, Muferet Erguven, Emel Coşkun

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Abstract

Introduction

This study examines the health problems and healthcare needs of refugee and asylum-seeker children and aims to develop strategies for improvement.

Methods

Based on quantitative data from 448 refugee and asylum-seeker children and 222 non-refugee local children, this study was conducted at Düzce University, Department of Paediatrics, between 2010 and 2021. The refugee children originated from three countries: Iraq (n = 304), Syria (n = 101) and Afghanistan (n = 43). The data were analysed using the SPSS data analysis program. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Düzce Üniversity.

Results

The results suggest that refugee and asylum-seeker children have significantly higher rates of acute illness or infection, malnutrition (p < 0.001) and anaemia (p < 0.001) than local children as a result of living in overcrowded families (p = 0.017) and unhealthy conditions. Adolescent pregnancy (p = 0.049) emerges as an important social problem as a result of child marriage among refugee children, mostly in the form of consanguineous marriages (p < 0.001). The rate of having at least two adolescent pregnancies (under 18) was highest among Syrian refugee girls (p = 0.01). Although refugee and asylum-seeker children have higher rates of health insurance (between 74% and 95%), they have lower rates of insurance compared to local children. This research also compares the data from three nationalities, including Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq children; Iraqi and Afghan children under the international protection (IP) system with limited social support and rights had worse health conditions compared to other groups. Although Iraqi children had the highest rates of health insurance on admission (p < 0.001), they also had higher rates of chronic diseases (p = 0.001), infections (p = 0.004), allergic rhinitis (p = 0.001) and malnutrition (p < 0.001). The youngest age of admission (p = 0.006) and the shortest length of stay (p = 0.004) were for Afghan children who also had higher rates of upper respiratory infections (p = 0.021).

Conclusions

This study highlights the urgent need for improved screening programmes and the importance of collaborative efforts to address the specific health needs of these populations. Addressing the health status of child refugees is a complex and multifaceted task that requires the active participation of healthcare professionals, policymakers and researchers, each of whom has a crucial role to play.

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图尔基耶杜兹采市的难民和寻求庇护儿童与健康问题。

简介：本研究探讨了难民儿童和寻求庇护儿童的健康问题和医疗需求，旨在制定改善战略：本研究探讨了难民儿童和寻求庇护儿童的健康问题和医疗需求，旨在制定改善策略：本研究基于 448 名难民儿童和寻求庇护儿童以及 222 名非难民当地儿童的定量数据，于 2010 年至 2021 年期间在杜塞大学儿科系进行。难民儿童来自三个国家：伊拉克（304 人）、叙利亚（101 人）和阿富汗（43 人）。数据使用 SPSS 数据分析程序进行分析。研究获得了杜兹兹大学伦理委员会的伦理许可：结果表明，难民和寻求庇护者儿童患急性疾病或感染、营养不良的比例明显较高：这项研究强调了改进筛查计划的迫切性，以及共同努力满足这些人群特殊健康需求的重要性。解决难民儿童的健康问题是一项复杂而多方面的任务，需要医疗保健专业人员、政策制定者和研究人员的积极参与，他们每个人都可以发挥关键作用。

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来源期刊

Child Care Health and Development 医学-小儿科

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

5.30%

发文量

136

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Child: care, health and development is an international, peer-reviewed journal which publishes papers dealing with all aspects of the health and development of children and young people. We aim to attract quantitative and qualitative research papers relevant to people from all disciplines working in child health. We welcome studies which examine the effects of social and environmental factors on health and development as well as those dealing with clinical issues, the organization of services and health policy. We particularly encourage the submission of studies related to those who are disadvantaged by physical, developmental, emotional and social problems. The journal also aims to collate important research findings and to provide a forum for discussion of global child health issues.