Health Issues Of Refugees

702 Words2 Pages

1. Introduction
This essay will start with a discussion of various terms utilised throughout the paper, it will then discuss factors that contribute to the mental health problems of the refugees in an chronological order, from pre-emigration, to emigration and experiencing the hardships of living in the host country. It will conclude with a discussion of treatment options and challenges of treatment of metal health issues facing refugee and offering solutions that can contribute to attainment of good metal health wellbeing of refugees.

Terminology
The terms of interest in this essay are refugees, asylum seekers and Internally Displaced People. Refugee is defined as a person who is outside their home country and are seeking asylum due to a
IDPs outnumber refugees, however it is hard to be exact about the number of IDPs around the globe as their movements are often not tracked and they do not self
They face violence, these include general conflict as well specific and targeted acts of violence such as torture and rape as well indirect or threat of violence. They also face immense discrimination such as unequal access to basic services, degrading treatment and acute poverty. Once in a safe host country, the refugee faces a new category of challenges that can impact his mental health. These can include dealing with cultural differences, loss of social status and dealing with the uncertainly of life. These experiences leave their marks on the psyche of the people that are seeking asylum. PTSD, anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders are therefore rife among refugee populations when compared to non-refugee populations. For example, studies into Caribbean refugee communities show higher rates of psychological issues and mental disorders in parts of the USA (Kirmayer 2010). Refugees, due to their unique circumstances require unique treatment and often the regular mental health services cannot provide this. Therefore, there is a need to better understand and then treat the mental health problems of refugee populations both in the developing and the developed

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