Tertiary paediatric refugee health clinic in Western Australia: Analysis of the first 1026 children

Aim: Children account for approximately half of the humanitarian refugees currently resettled in Australia. A multidisciplinary refugee health clinic (RHC) was established at the tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia to address burgeoning referrals of refugee children following voluntar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of paediatrics and child health Vol. 48; no. 7; pp. 582 - 587
Main Authors:	Mutch, Raewyn C, Cherian, Sarah, Nemba, Kuria, Geddes, Janet S, Rutherford, David M, Chaney, Gervase M, Burgner, David P
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Melbourne, Australia Blackwell Publishing Asia 01-07-2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects:	Adolescent Ambulatory Care Facilities - statistics & numerical data Child Child health Child, Preschool children Clinical medicine Clinics Deficiency Diseases - ethnology Delivery of Health Care Developed Countries Diseases Epidemiology Female Health Status Humans Infant Infection - ethnology Male model of care Pediatrics post-resettlement health assessment refugee Refugees Refugees - statistics & numerical data Western Australia - epidemiology Western Australia Western Australia Australia
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Summary:	Aim: Children account for approximately half of the humanitarian refugees currently resettled in Australia. A multidisciplinary refugee health clinic (RHC) was established at the tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia to address burgeoning referrals of refugee children following voluntary post‐resettlement health assessment. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology of common conditions in resettled paediatric refugees attending a tertiary multidisciplinary RHC. Methods: Standardised clinical and demographic data were routinely collected during first visit clinical assessment at the RHC. Descriptive analyses of the first 1026 children are presented. Results: One thousand twenty‐six refugee children from 475 families and over 30 different ethnicities were described. Nine hundred twenty‐seven (90.4%) children were referred following post‐resettlement health assessment. Median age was 7.8 years. Common reasons for referral were: vitamin D deficiency (400, 39%), iron deficiency (226, 22%), positive Helicobacter pylori serology (206, 21%), poor appetite (175, 17.1%), and schistosomiasis (170, 16.6%). Comorbidities identified by the RHC included tinea capitis and corporis (297, 28.9%), and dental disease (228, 22.2%). Two‐thirds of children (680, 66.3%) had at least one abnormal finding on clinical examination that identified pathologies that were not evident from the history. Three hundred eighty children (37%) were referred to sub‐specialty services. Conclusions: A multidisciplinary paediatric RHC facilitated and strengthened the management of refugee children with multiple and complex health needs. Evidenced–based culturally appropriate methods to identify developmental delay, psychological morbidity and quantify social needs of this vulnerable population remain uncertain. These findings are relevant to the continuing evolution of paediatric refugee health care in Australia and other high income countries.
Bibliography:	ark:/67375/WNG-DRCFTHLP-2 ArticleID:JPC2429 istex:CB590F34D88983A1299631BEE5A95DDA33C4C57D Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, v.48, no.7, July 2012: 582-587 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1034-4810 1440-1754
DOI:	10.1111/j.1440-1754.2012.02429.x