Page 59 - Human Rights

Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department

Asylum seekers and refugees are not a homogeneous group and have a myriad of health needs,

resulting from differing backgrounds and life experiences as well as the experience of the

individual prior to and during flight.

In addition, the health needs of individual asylum seekers and refugees will differ according to
their gender and age.

Social status, ethnic or other origin might create other factors that impact on people’s health

needs. However, there are certain issues that health practitioners find common to many asylum

seekers and refugees who may have experienced the mental and physical consequences of
torture, such as chronic physical pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Exposure to other traumas such as loss of, or separation from, family, witnessing violence, or
taking part in military action, can also have detrimental health effects.

Furthermore, many women and girls have experienced gender-based violence, including rape,

especially in armed conflict.

It is important to note, however, that not all signs of psychological distress signify mental illness.

A number of commentators have emphasized that reactions to the distress of exile frequently
represent a normal reaction to a stressful experience and that care should be taken not to label

asylum seekers with diagnoses which could further stigmatize them.

Nevertheless, if untreated in the country of asylum, individuals’ mental and physical health can

worsen, and can be exacerbated by the situation in which asylum seekers may find themselves.

Stressors include a lack of access to an adequate standard of living including poor housing, ongoing

uncertainty regarding asylum status, lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of family and friends,

and social isolation, or even lack of access to health care.

56 Academic Year 2025/2026