Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
Volume 24, Issue 5, 2014, Pages 379-381

Access to mental health services and psychotropic drug use in refugees and asylum seekers hosted in high-income countries (Article) (Open Access)

Nosè M.* , Turrini G. , Barbui C.
  • a Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro, 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • b Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro, 10, Verona, 37134, Italy
  • c Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro, 10, Verona, 37134, Italy

Abstract

In the populations of refugees and asylum seekers hosted in high-income countries, access to mental health care and psychotropic drugs, is a major challenge. A recent Swedish cross-sectional register study has explored this phenomenon in a national cohort of 43 403 young refugees and their families from Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Afghanistan. This register study found lower rates of dispensed psychotropic drugs among recently settled refugees, as compared with Swedish-born residents, with an increase in the use with duration of residence. In this commentary, the results of this survey are discussed in view of their global policy implications for high-income countries hosting populations of refugees and asylum seekers. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015.

Author Keywords

Access Asylum seekers Refugees psychotropic drugs

Index Keywords

developed country drug use human health program asylum seeker refugee mental health service health care distribution posttraumatic stress disorder cultural factor psychotropic agent mental health care Article health care disparity Swedish citizen health care quality public health health care access
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84941177740&doi=10.1017%2fS2045796015000578&partnerID=40&md5=8be0c758ed7a4d71607f9c4889257ccc
DOI: 10.1017/S2045796015000578
ISSN: 20457960
Cited by: 6
Original Language: English