Medical check-up of newly arrived unaccompanied minors: A dedicated pediatric consultation service in a hospital.
Infectious diseases
Migrant
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Unaccompanied minors
Violence
Journal
Archives de pediatrie : organe officiel de la Societe francaise de pediatrie
ISSN: 1769-664X
Titre abrégé: Arch Pediatr
Pays: France
ID NLM: 9421356
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Nov 2021
Nov 2021
Historique:
received:
02
11
2020
revised:
15
03
2021
accepted:
26
09
2021
pubmed:
11
11
2021
medline:
15
12
2021
entrez:
10
11
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Healthcare for the increasing number of migrants in Europe, and particularly of unaccompanied minors (UMs) seeking asylum, has become a major challenge. We aimed to describe the health issues of UMs managed in a dedicated pediatric consultation service in a care center in Paris. All UMs attending a dedicated migrant medical consultation service in Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France, were included in a single-center retrospective observational study from September 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018. Out of the 107 UMs who were included, 87% had a health problem (n=93) and 52% had an infectious disease (n=56). The main infectious diagnoses were schistosomiasis (22%), latent tuberculosis (22%), intestinal parasitosis (16%), and chronic hepatitis B (8%). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and overweight were common (35% and 20%, respectively). The median age was 15 years old (IQR, 14-16), the male/female ratio was 95/12. Most of the children were from sub-Saharan Africa (n=67), 46% had crossed Libya (n=49) and, when compared to the other migration routes, faced an increasing risk of violence (69%, p=0.04), imprisonment (53%, p=0.03), and forced labor (48%, p=0.02). The median duration of the trip before reaching France was 6 months (IQR, 2-13), the median time to consultation was 2 months (0-5) and was not associated with an increased risk of health problems. A total of 43 UMs were lost to follow-up. Health problems, particularly infectious diseases and PTSD, are common among UMs and should prompt an early medical consultation with psychiatric evaluation. Follow-up is problematic and could be improved by an on-line health book.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
OBJECTIVE
Healthcare for the increasing number of migrants in Europe, and particularly of unaccompanied minors (UMs) seeking asylum, has become a major challenge. We aimed to describe the health issues of UMs managed in a dedicated pediatric consultation service in a care center in Paris.
METHODS
METHODS
All UMs attending a dedicated migrant medical consultation service in Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France, were included in a single-center retrospective observational study from September 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Out of the 107 UMs who were included, 87% had a health problem (n=93) and 52% had an infectious disease (n=56). The main infectious diagnoses were schistosomiasis (22%), latent tuberculosis (22%), intestinal parasitosis (16%), and chronic hepatitis B (8%). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and overweight were common (35% and 20%, respectively). The median age was 15 years old (IQR, 14-16), the male/female ratio was 95/12. Most of the children were from sub-Saharan Africa (n=67), 46% had crossed Libya (n=49) and, when compared to the other migration routes, faced an increasing risk of violence (69%, p=0.04), imprisonment (53%, p=0.03), and forced labor (48%, p=0.02). The median duration of the trip before reaching France was 6 months (IQR, 2-13), the median time to consultation was 2 months (0-5) and was not associated with an increased risk of health problems. A total of 43 UMs were lost to follow-up.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
Health problems, particularly infectious diseases and PTSD, are common among UMs and should prompt an early medical consultation with psychiatric evaluation. Follow-up is problematic and could be improved by an on-line health book.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34756657
pii: S0929-693X(21)00161-5
doi: 10.1016/j.arcped.2021.09.012
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
689-695Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2021 French Society of Pediatrics. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Declaration of Competing Interest None.