Optimising refugee children’s health/wellbeing in preparation for primary and secondary school: a qualitative inquiry
| Autor: | Karen Zwi, Ann M Dadich, Catherine Kaplun, Shanti Raman, Valsamma Eapen, Virginia Schmied, Ajesh George, Catherine T. Best, J. R. Baker, Amit Arora, Jane Kohlhoff |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Parents medicine.medical_specialty Refugee Adolescent Child Welfare Poison control 030209 endocrinology & metabolism Health Services Accessibility 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Nursing Health care medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Early childhood Preschool Child Poverty Health communication Qualitative Research Refugees Schools business.industry lcsh:Public aspects of medicine Public health fungi Australia Child Health Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health lcsh:RA1-1270 Cultural Diversity Focus Groups Mental health Focus group Mental Health Child Preschool Health service Female Qualitative business Needs Assessment Research Article |
| Zdroj: | BMC Public Health BMC Public Health, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2019) |
| ISSN: | 1471-2458 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12889-019-7183-5 |
| Popis: | Background Children from refugee backgrounds are less likely to access appropriate health and social care than non-refugee children. Our aim was to identify refugee children’s health/wellbeing strengths and needs, and the barriers and enablers to accessing services while preparing for primary and secondary school, in a low socio-economic multicultural community in Australia. Method Ten focus groups were facilitated with Arabic-speaking refugee parents of children aged 2–5 years (n = 11) or in first year secondary school (n = 22); refugee adolescents starting high school (n = 16); and key service providers to refugee families (n = 27). Vignettes about a healthy child and a child with difficulties guided the discussions. Data was thematically analysed and feedback sought from the community via the World Café method. Results Personal resilience and strong family systems were identified as strengths. Mental health was identified as a complex primary need; and whilst refugees were aware of available services, there were issues in knowing how to access them. Opportunities for play/socialisation were recognised as unmet adolescent needs. Adults spoke of a need to support integration of “old” and “new” cultural values. Parents identified community as facilitating health knowledge transfer for new arrivals; whilst stakeholders saw this as a barrier when systems change. Most parents had not heard of early childhood services, and reported difficulty accessing child healthcare. Preschooler parents identified the family “GP” as the main source of health support; whilst parents of adolescents valued their child’s school. Health communication in written (not spoken) English was a significant roadblock. Differences in refugee family and service provider perceptions were also evident. Conclusions Refugee families face challenges to accessing services, but also have strengths that enable them to optimise their children’s wellbeing. Culturally-tailored models of care embedded within GP services and school systems may assist improved healthcare for refugee families. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7183-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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