Mental health and trauma in asylum seekers landing in Sicily in 2015: a descriptive study of neglected invisible wounds
Documents mental health conditions, traumatic events and post-migratory living difficulties in a Médecins sans Frontières programme
Abstract
In 2015, Italy was the second most common point of entry for asylum seekers into Europe after Greece. The vast majority embarked from war-torn Libya; 80,000 people claimed asylum that year. Their medical conditions were assessed on arrival but their mental health needs were not addressed in any way, despite the likelihood of serious trauma before and during migration. Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), in agreement with the Italian Ministry of Health, provided mental health (MH) assessment and care for recently-landed asylum seekers in Sicily. This study documents mental health conditions, potentially traumatic events and post-migratory living difficulties experienced by asylum seekers in the MSF programme in 2014–15.
This research was supported by the UK Department for International Development’s Operational Research Capacity Building Programme led by the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union)
Citation
Crepet A, Rita F, Reid A, Van Den Boogaard W, Deiana P, Quaranta G, Barbieri A, Bongiorno F, Di Carlo S. Mental health and trauma in asylum seekers landing in Sicily in 2015: a descriptive study of neglected invisible wounds. Conflict and Health. 2017;11:1.