Mental Health in Refugee Populations
Refugees are up to 4.7 times more likely to develop mental health disorders than native populations in Europe. Moreover, the conditions under which refugees and asylum seekers arrive in the host country – often afflicted by illness and poor mental health – affect the terms and ease with which they pursue incorporation in their host countries. Stressors, including trauma and exposure to violence, inhumane and inadequate living conditions, and volatile legal status occur both prior to and after arriving in host countries. Negative outcomes persist even after many years of resettlement in host countries. Thus, the reception and integration systems for refugees in their given host country play a role in influencing their mental health outcomes.
The European Union upholds a common set of principles for asylum and immigration through the Common European Asylum System and grants rights to asylees under the Lisbon Treaty 2007 and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, access to health care for refugees – including mental health care – varies greatly between and even within member states of the European Union. This is largely due to variations in immigration policy, which are within the purview of member states. Refugee status is accompanied by numerous factors that must be considered in framing policy to deliver mental healthcare to refugees, including the effects of language barriers and social segregation, trauma, and lack of knowledge about health care in their host country.
It is crucial to investigate how immigration policies, local culture, and integration methods in Belgium, Germany, and Greece impact refugee mental health. Each of these countries differ in immigration policy and models of integration. Belgium and Germany possess liberal immigration policies, while Greece’s immigration policy is more restrictive. At the same time, Belgium and Germany differ in their models of integration. While Germany incorporates a segregationist model – with refugees living in close communities relatively insulated from society – Belgium pursues a multiculturalist model to assimilate refugees within mainstream society. A robust investigation into refugees’ unmet mental health needs, the availability of mental health resources to refugees, and the effects of reception and integration systems in member states on refugee mental health is crucial to inform policy changes at the local, national, and international. Each of these has implications for the well-being of refugees, and are lessons that are essential for people in the United States and the European Union alike to learn.