FAMILY HEALTH AND WELLBEING

COSLA/Queen Margaret University

12 October 2015

Refugee Integration: Research Perspectives to Inform Practice

OVERVIEW1. Health and

Wellbeing Issues2. Family Separation

and Reunion3. Responses

Research reports 1. “We started life again”: Integration experiences of refugees reuniting in Glasgow

a) common barriers and structural obstacles to integration for families

b) how dynamics within the family affect integration experiences

2. Health and wellbeing of refugee families

c) risk factors for poor health and wellbeing

d) ‘resilience’ factors and coping mechanisms

What are the issues?

Health and wellbeing issues in Syrian families:

physical injuries and trauma from bombings;

physical and mental health difficulties from experiences of torture;

severe psychological distress or trauma that continued to disrupt everyday life;

and/or chronic health conditions exacerbated because of lack of access to health facilities.

Risk and resilience factors Risk factors Resilience factor

Home country

Detention/Torture Violent conflict (trauma/fear) Loss of friends/relatives Sexual and gender based violence Existing poor physical &mental health

Family support Religious faith Employment/livelihood Wider social networks

(SeparationPeriod)

Changed family roles/responsibilities Displacement to 3rd country Poverty/financial stress Not knowing where relatives are Isolation/loss of support networks

Support of extended family Religious faith/community support Communication with separated family

members Remittances

In the UK Integration challenges Isolation/loss of support networks Poverty/destitution On-going separation from family Homelessness/overcrowding

Religious faith/community Reunion with family New activities and routines Social connections and peer support Support from organisations

Family separation and reunion Family Separation

Negative impacts on wellbeing include: anxiety, guilt, ambiguous loss, and disrupted family roles.

Refugees described living in limbo and struggling to engage with daily activities.

Family Reunion Reunion with family members reduce stress and enhances emotional

support and coping resources.

Problems can occur renegotiating relationships e.g. parent/child bonding difficulties, family break-up or domestic violence

Health & Wellbeing and Integration

Integration difficulties impact on health and wellbeing – e.g. unemployment, language difficulties, poor housing, poverty/financial difficulties

And…

Poor health and wellbeing hinder wider integration (at both individual and family level)

Therefore important to have resources and integration support in place

Framework of needs & responses Importance broader psychosocial framework

What can we do? Community-based psychosocial activities which enable

people to:

actively participate,

re-establish everyday routines

build networks of emotional and practical support are beneficial for a majority of families.

Drawing on resources within communities is important to foster resilience

Red Cross role in family reunion Mandate under Geneva Conventions and additional

protocols to reunite separated families

Family tracing and reuniting families through international Restoring Family Links network

Family reunion work in Scotland since April 2011 and Integration Service for reunited families 2014-2015

Further resources Red Cross research reports:

Health and wellbeing of refugee families reuniting in Glasgow (forthcoming) “We started life again”: integration experiences of refugee families reuniting in

Glasgow UNHCR research report:

Culture, context and the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Syrians Red Cross Restoring Family Links services IFRC Psychosocial Resource Centre:

Strengthening Resilience Broken Links: Psychosocial support for people separated from family members

MHPSS website - mhpss.net - library of resources, guidelines and resource people

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Research approach BRM/Casework – 50 families/123 people

Integration interviews –14 families/ 45 people

Comparative group West Yorkshire

FFT family group sessions – 4 families/5 sessions

Follow up wellbeing interviews – 2 family interviews