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Exploring refugee access to primary healthcare services in Aotearoa

Year:
2020
Duration:
6 months
Approved budget:
$30,000.00
Researchers:
Dr Mudassir Anwar
,
Dr Denise Taylor
Health issue:
Other (generic health or health services)
Proposal type:
Health Delivery Research Activation Grant
Lay summary
Refugees represent a diverse group of displaced individuals with unique health issues and disease risks. New Zealand has long been accepting refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Iraq, Myanmar, and Syria. Since 2016 more people who have had to flee conflict in Syria, Palestine and Iraq have arrived. Although New Zealand has a well-designed resettlement programme for refugees that includes initial health screening and later access to funded health care, data on the experience of refugees with the New Zealand health care system is scarce. Therefore this research activation project aims to develop relationships with the recent refugee communities/community from the Arabian countries, who have made their home in Wellington and Dunedin. We are keen to work with these communities to establish their primary health care needs, how these are currently being fulfilled, and what barriers they have experienced in accessing health care.