Metropolis Abstract 

 

 

Title: How to integrate refugee children in the local community and the role of local authorities

 

 

OMEGA Health Care Center - Organization for Victims of Violence and Violations of Human Rights

 

The . OMEGA Health Care Center. is a non-profit- organization which aims to support, attend and offer medical as well as psychological treatment to refugees who have suffered from severe violations of their human rights.

 

OMEGA provides:

-         Medical, psychological and social counseling as well as treatment for refugees and  victims of severe violence

-         Community based psychological programs for children, adolescents and women . such as school support programs, programs using creative activities (music), women. s groups, information exchange, multicultural catering service etc.

-         International training programs for . helpers. in thel fields of Health and Education

-         Networking activities in the EU and in former Yugoslavia

-         Advocacy work

-         Research in the fields of mental health and integration process

 

Context:

Migrants have many difficulties that can have an effect on their health. The migration is one reason for an alienation within the family, which leads to more generation gaps and conflicts between the sexes.

Uncertainty concerning the law, caused by an unclear asylum status and language barriers make the connections to the outside world more difficult.

Also social inequalities, like uncertain conditions concerning the job, awkward living conditions, xenophobia, barriers and a lack of information can cause stress.

Also special cultural aspects, like culturally coined concepts concerning illness and health, special expectations concerning health promotion and barriers for claims can have a harmful influence on the possibilities of treatment.

 

Goals of our work

The goal of the project is setting up cultural specific forms of activities for the promotion of health and access to health services  for migrants and refugees in Graz.

Passing on of information on health promoting behaviour by visiting refugee camps and carrying through counselling there.

Compiling of information on health, health related institutions and counselling agencies.

Reducing of barriers in the approach by providing interpreters in public counselling agencies.

Specific health promotion in the field of physical education and nutrition:  through nutrition consultation, cooking workshops, counselling and offers to several different physical and stress reducing sport activities from which the participants should emerge as distributors/teachers.

For the helpers not only the language barrier plays an important role, but also the understanding of the "strange things" we experience. We need to promote the "intercultural competence." Migrants often have pathological patterns we are not used to and for us an unusual presentation of their complaints because of their culture.

 

Building the local network of already existing health institutions to exchange experiences on migrational and ethnomedical problems, to enhance multicultural competence and reduce barriers coming from the the helpers themselves

 

 

 

Barriers of access to institutions of the health and social resort:

 

In Austria generally  everyone has an insurance, who has an official employment, and this does not depend on the citizenship. However there are - invisible - barriers of access, which makes a suitable usage of the different health resorts difficult.

In the first place you have to mention the  language barriers. Because of a difficult way of communication between the doctor and the patient there are often wrong diagnosis, too much of prescribed drugs because of a helplessness of the doctor, a high input of diagnosis through a lot of examinations, therapies that are applied too late, doctor shopping and the effects of a revolving door, because the treatment is not satisfying for either sides.

 

Migrants and refugees have more difficulties to get access to the health institutions, no matter weather they have an insurance or not. So they have a higher risk to get ill. There are specific factors concerning migration, the social situation or cultural factors that play a role.

 

The following project takes steps to reduce the barriers of access and to mediate information, in order to make the concerned people more able to take care of their health.

 

The project considers this through the following measures :

Support concerning the access to existing health institutions

Counselling & treatment

Mediation of the language and the culture

Mediation of information in different languages

Informational meetings where knowledge about health is mediated on a low level.

Targeted measures for the promotion of health like healthy nutrition and fitness

 

Basic medical treatment free of charge for domestic people and foreigners without insurance in the Marien-Ambulanz - the outpatients department, where doctors are volunteers in co-operation with the Caritas.

 

Health promotion measures

 

In workshops with subjects like healthy nutrition, offers of motion like running, swimming, fitness and relaxation exercises, women cafes, where subjects concerning health are treated and discussed on a low level, through the mediation of informational literature about health and job offers, through mother tongue company to the diverse institutions (Medicine, Social field, authorities)m the access to the health system and the learning of a healthy way of living is made easier for migrants.

 

Offers for education:

 

There is an offer of learning lessons for children and young people, where especially linguistic and cultural problems are treated. Creative activities are promoted (music workshops  - . World Beat.

For adults there is an offer for computer courses free of charge, as these courses are especially attractive for a further education, where at the same time  information about health is mediated on a low level (e.g. during the course the cooking of a common, healthy, cheap meal).

 

 

Mother tongue escort by community interpreters

 

If necessary there is the possibility to get  the native language escort for a visit at the doctors, in the hospital, to health institutions, counselling institutions for mothers, to authorities, etc., who should be specially trained  in the field of communal interpreting. For migrants who do not master the language of the country yet, the barrier of access could be reduced in this way.

 

Information leaflets

 

Through the composing of written informational material in different languages the migrants are informed about the offer in the field of health, which is perhaps different to the material in their mother tongue.

For the refugee camps there are special health guidebooks with information about health, nutrition, infectional diseases, education of the children, baby care and so on.

 

Counselling concerning health in the refugee camps

 

Regularly once a week  the camps are visited by doctors and psychologists. Health problems are discussed, eventually dates at doctors are organised, diagnosis are discussed, prescriptions of drugs are explained. If necessary a company to the visits at the doctor or the hospital is organised. There is a stress on the counselling concerning nutrition, baby care and education of the children.

 

Pursuing mobile counselling work in the frame of the Marienambulanz.

 

"A rolling surgery", which means a doctor and a nurse are visiting as street workers places where there are the so called fringes, like homeless people, fixers, those addicted to alcohol, in order to treat them on the place anonymous and personally to reduce the fear of visiting the Marienambulanz. On a low level there is mediated information concerning health.

 

Psychiatric councelling & Psychotherapy

 

At the same time there is build up a psychiatric counselling especially in the emergency bedding, as especially in these institutions there are a lot of people who are psychically conspicuous because of their history and their living conditions.

Persons in need of treatment can be offered psychtherapeutical treatment at our center.

 

Information meetings in the camps

 

In co-operation with other organisations (Aids Help, Counselling for drug addicts, specialists etc.), counsellors as well as inhabitants get familiar with special health subjects. Psycho-education is carried out to give traumatised person better coping strategies and knowledge about stress and crises reactions.

 

Refugees and migrants without legal status in Austria have usually no access to the health system, as they most frequently do not have the money for a treatment. So the Marienambulanz was founded, where people without insurance get basic medical treatment.

 

As the stay in the refugee camps is a kind of . Ghetto situation. , it is especially difficult, to get information about health issues there. The health system does not reach them so to speak. That is why a . reaching out. counselling is necessary.

 

Training of the professionals involved

 

For the counsellors of the camps there are training modules offered, like e.g. about infectious diseases, hygiene, the treatment of mentaly ill people, behaviour in crisis situations and so on.

The OMEGA employees are participating in trainings which are internally organised, as well as in congresses and seminars with topics concerning migration.

 

We hope not only to promote the "empowerment" of the migrants and refugees to get access to health institutions with our work but also to raise the awareness of the public concerning the factors of which health on the whole consist. Health and understanding, or the communication and understanding are especially big problems because of cultural and linguistic barriers. This is why we want to emphasise the education of the so called community interpreters and their institutionalisation in the field of public health in one of the future projects.

 

Photos:

I will bring over head photos to show pictures of the different activities and aspects of our work.