to meet the specific needs of traumatised women of different ethnic groups, in respect of the women's integrity, to ensure well-being and to prevent inequality in health, social stigmatisation and marginalisation

Medical Officer, specialist in Public Health and Social Medicine. Danish Medical Women's Association and Medical Officers, Frederiksborg County, Denmark
Kongens Vænge 4, 3400 Hillerød, Denmark
e-mail: amy@frb.eli.dk Phone: +45 48222412 Telefax: +45 48240765

Background

The set-up of health care offered to female asylum seekers in Denmark is based on a co-operation between the asylum dept. of the Danish Red Cross and the National Health Authorities, carried out by nurses and doctors attached and trained by the Danish Red Cross, according to the humanitarian principles of this organisation.

Purposes

1. To uncover the asylum seeker's state of being, her health status, strengths and possible vulnerability; by doing this, to adjust care, treatment and prevention to female groups and individuals showing signs of needs, ordinary as well as extraordinary, as might be.

2. To enhance the asylum seeker's competence at reacting with an adequate sense of coherence in order to keep up her spirits and her health.

3. To study asylum seekers' health status, to develop evidence-based health care initiatives which match the needs of any ethnic group/individual at any given time, by:

• assessing the health status among asylum seekers to identify the unhealthy/vulnerable ones
• offering birth-control, pregnancy- and mother-and-child supporting programmes
• generating a psycho-social and medical action plan
• providing relevant and understandable information on health issues
• initiating care and treatment
• hindering the spread of infectious diseases
• establishing disease surveillance
• offering screening for some diseases, e.g. tuberculosis

Prerequisites

The asylum seekers' approval is required to receive any health care.

Objectives

Achieve reciprocally of the health care /-information, given in the asylum seeker period, as an asset.

Goals

To put a specific focus on women in letting all asylum seekers get access to health care on equal terms at the level indicated above. This includes health personnel who are trained to meet the special needs presented in this group of patients being constantly aware of women and children as the most vulnerable groups.

To understand health care for immigrants/asylum seekers as an on-going process, beginning from the arrival to Denmark, lasting till asylum is granted (or vice versa), after which the health care given should be understood as an integrated and coherent part of the national health care system.