Diabetes management in the face of adversity: Experiences of asylum‐seekers in Belgian reception centres
Autor: | Wanda Monika Johanna Van Hemelrijck, Hadewijch Vandenheede, Solveig A. Cunningham |
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Přispěvatelé: | Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) |
Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Endocrinology
Diabetes and Metabolism Refugee media_common.quotation_subject Face (sociological concept) Health Services Accessibility Endocrinology Belgium Nursing Diabetes management Diabetes Mellitus Internal Medicine Humans media_common.cataloged_instance Medicine Quality (business) European Union European union Disease management (health) media_common Transients and Migrants Refugees business.industry Displaced person Europe business Asylum seeker |
Zdroj: | Diabetic Medicine, 39(4):e14742 |
ISSN: | 1464-5491 0742-3071 |
DOI: | 10.1111/dme.14742 |
Popis: | Background Diabetes poses a heavy burden on patients due to its progressive and chronic nature; it requires continuous management to promote a high-quality and long life. Disease management is especially challenging in emergency settings. We examined how displaced people with diabetes experienced managing their illness before and throughout the process of fleeing their home communities and seeking resettlement in Europe. Design We designed an interview instrument with closed- and open-ended questions about diabetes diagnosis and management before fleeing the home country, during migration, stays in transit countries, and reception in the European Union. We interviewed 20 asylum seekers living in Belgian reception centres with diagnosed diabetes mellitus. Results Primary topics emerging from interviews were availability, accessibility, and quality. Belgium was described as a setting with high availability, accessibility, and quality of diabetes management components (medication, tools, care) compared to other settings before and during migration. Even in Belgium, maintaining a healthy diet as an asylum seeker was difficult. Other concerns such as safety, other health issues, and the asylum request itself often outweighed diabetes management. Conclusions Displaced people in non-western countries need attention for nutrition and diabetes medicine, so aid agencies should consider providing for those needs. For people seeking asylum in the West and living in temporary facilities, care should be paid to the dietary options available for those with diabetes. For irregular migrants, diabetes can be deadly, and resources should be made available for their basic diabetes needs, even if they are not eligible for regular health services. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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