Health Care Needs for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Adolescents: A Retrospective Study from An Adolescent Health Unit in Switzerland

Author(s) : Patseadou Magdalini, Francoise Narring, Catherine Chamay-Weber

Source : http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.11.221

Abstract:

 Unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents (UASA) are regarded as the most exposed and vulnerable victims of migration. The number of UASA applying for asylum in European countries has grown rapidly over the last three years (2014–2016). Around 3 % of all asylum applications in Europe were processed in Switzerland and in this country for 2015, a 10-fold increase was observed as compared to the 2000s. About 5 % of all UASA received in Switzerland were resettled in the canton of Geneva. These adolescents were all referred to the university adolescent outpatient clinic for a systematic post-arrival health screening and a follow-up. This study aimed to investigate the health status and health care needs of this population.