Abstract
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 65.6 million people have been
forcibly displaced worldwide. Several factors have a major influence on asylum seekers'
health; so, their health profile is markedly different from that of the population
in the country of asylum. The aim of this study is to review the major issues physicians
need to be aware of when treating asylum seekers, with a special focus on the neurological
problems of asylum seekers and refugees. The major impact factors on refugees' health
are linked to experiences and exposure (1) in the country of origin, (2) in refugee
camps and en route to Europe, and (3) in the process of immigration into the host
country and living in European asylum centers. Refugees' health is also affected by
psychological problems and by infectious diseases. Additionally, chronic diseases
resulting in polymorbidity, cancer, and neurological diseases are easy to overlook
and demand special attention. Neurological injuries/diseases may be traumatic (e.g.,
spinal cord injuries), posttraumatic (e.g., chronic pain syndromes), the result of
cerebral infections, or the consequences of starvation (e.g., epilepsy, ataxia, and
paraesthesia). The main challenges for physicians are lack of awareness of the asylum
seekers' specific health care problems, language and intercultural communication problems,
as well as access and integration of asylum seekers into the health care system. The
health issues of asylum seekers are manifold and challenging to physicians. Awareness
of these conditions is mandatory to ensure good clinical practice for this patient
population, which has a huge burden in chronic, infectious, mental, and neurological
diseases.
Keywords
refugee - asylum seeker - health care - neurology
