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As an IPC professional working in a healthcare institution in a European setting, you are likely to have treated or provided advice for patients who have experienced forced migration. The resources on this page will help you to identify and respond to the specific needs of asylum seekers and refugees. They explore how you can develop your practice to best care for patients in this situation, and how you can provide IPC advice in specialist contexts relating to migration such as detention centres.
Curated by Dr Sarah Walpole, HIS is proud to present free resources for IPC professionals working with migrants. We present videos recorded at the FIS International Conference 2023, an excerpt from the award-winning Handbook of Refugee Health and links to relevant articles from the HIS journals.
In this session recorded at FIS International Conference 2023, experienced speakers guide you through the challenges of identifying and responding to specific needs and infection challenges facing refugees and asylum seekers. The session focuses on healthcare delivery in European settings. Together, these videos provide insights on how we can to adapt and improve our knowledge, skills and healthcare systems to provide appropriate infection services for individuals and populations who have experienced forced migration.
The first video explores specific needs of refugees and asylum seekers. The second video includes case studies of outbreak management and individual case management. The third video provides an example of an infectious diseases service which specifically supports people who have experienced forced migration.
As infection specialists, taking a patient centred approach which is grounded in an understanding of the different exposures our patients have experienced from their countries of origin, on their journeys and in their host countries is essential for evaluation, diagnosis and management. As such, developing an understanding of global health systems, of socio-cultural and health literacy factors which influence infection risks and health seeking behaviours is important to ensure optimal care for refugees, migrants and other vulnerable groups.
Infectious outbreaks in detention settings present complex medical, social and logistic issues, together with infection control problems. Two separate episodes are presented, highlighting some of these issues across different pathogens and populations, emphasising the multi-agency nature of the response required.
Those who have experienced forced migration represent diverse peoples, as well as suffer from increased risks of health conditions, particularly around infectious diseases and mental health. As in international settings, in the UK, forced migrants struggle to navigate the system, and may default to use emergency services to access healthcare. In a burdened and relative resource constrained system, what are the challenges in better identifying such patients and strengthening care delivery in UK emergency settings?
Winner of the 2022 BMA Medical Book Awards, the Handbook of Refugee Health is a timely and invaluable resource for healthcare workers who look after refugees and migrants in humanitarian settings and daily clinical practice. There is a section focused on public health issues relevant to practising clinicians, and a chapter dedicated to infectious disease management.
Read an excerpt of the book below, or purchase it from Routledge here.