International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume 16, Issue 20, 2019

A scoping review and conceptual model of social participation and mental health among refugees and asylum seekers (Review) (Open Access)

Niemi M.* , Manhica H. , Gunnarsson D. , Ståhle G. , Larsson S. , Saboonchi F.
  • a Department of Public Health Science, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 1E, Stockholm, 104 31, Sweden, Center for Social Sustainability, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, Huddinge, 141 52, Sweden
  • b Department of Public Health Science, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 1E, Stockholm, 104 31, Sweden
  • c School of Historical and Contemporary Studies, Södertörn University, Alfred Nobels Allée 7, Huddinge, 141 89, Sweden
  • d School of Historical and Contemporary Studies, Södertörn University, Alfred Nobels Allée 7, Huddinge, 141 89, Sweden
  • e Department of Health Sciences, Swedish Red Cross University College, Hälsovägen 11, Huddinge, 141 57, Sweden
  • f Department of Health Sciences, Swedish Red Cross University College, Hälsovägen 11, Huddinge, 141 57, Sweden, Division of Insurance medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Berzelius Väg 3, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden

Abstract

Social participation plays a key role in the integration of refugees and asylum seekers into their host societies, and is also closely tied to the mental health of those populations. The aim of this scoping review was to study how the concept of social participation is described in empirical research, and how it is associated with mental health outcomes. Methods: In total, 64 studies were identified through searches in PubMed, PsycInfo, and Sociological Abstracts. These studies describe various forms of social participation among refugees and asylum seekers, and 33 of them also addressed various forms of mental health outcomes. Results: The identified studies described forms and conditions of social participation—both in the host country and transnationally—that could be synthesized into three broad dimensions: (1) Regulatory frameworks, conditions and initiatives; (2) Established societal organizations and social structures; and (3) Community organized groups. Each of these consisted of several sub-domains. The identified dimensions of social participation were also associated with psychosocial well-being and decreased psychological distress. Conclusions: There is a need for policies to enable and support the participation of refugees and asylum seekers in various dimensions of social structures in host societies. Social participation enhances resilience, re-establishes social lives, and acts as a protective factor against poor mental health outcomes. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Author Keywords

Dimension Social participation Mental health Refugees and asylum seekers

Index Keywords

refugee health risk social life mental health human wellbeing mental stress social structure Medline asylum seeker conceptual framework empirical research PsycINFO Review social participation outcome assessment medical geography systematic review conceptual model public health
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85073750068&doi=10.3390%2fijerph16204027&partnerID=40&md5=5349564631edd06a929ac0f9250499b8
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16204027
ISSN: 16617827
Original Language: English