Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Volume 9, Issue 2.
Welcome to the second issue of 2016. Over the last year, Europe has seen the biggest refugee and migrant wave since Second World War. According to the UN Refugee Council (UNHCR), just in 2015, over 1.1 million individuals arrived in the region mainly coming from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. In total, 34 per cent of them were children. At the time of writing, the rate of new arrivals is 60,000 per month (180,000 new refugees arrived across Europe and internationally since January 2016). The implications for health and public service provision are considerable.
Therefore, it is not surprising that some of this issue’s papers aim to enhance health inequalities of Afghan refugees looking at locations such as Iran. The journal has always focused on the most current research and policy gaps looking at current concerns from an international perspective and by inviting scholars from all corners of the world to research about them. Our ultimate objective is twofold. First, to enhance knowledge. Second to improve practice and policy.
Consequently, I am particularly proud to have edited the papers “Afghan refugees ‘experience of Iran’s health service delivery”and “The disparity in geographical accessibility to healthcare resources in Iran: the comparison of two cross-section”.
The first paper, “Afghan refugees ‘experience of Iran’s health service delivery” explores the experiences of Afghan refugees in health service delivery in Mashhad – Iran. The paper uses original data from a qualitative survey that was conducted with 19 Afghan refugees and their caregivers and a focus group session that was held with Afghan medical science students. Unsurprisingly,it is the first study on the health of Afghan refugees in Iran, and thus we hope that it can act as the foundation for further research. Furthermore, the authors point out that the findings and recommendations can help ameliorate the healthcare conditions of immigrants in Iran. Overall, the study reveals inequity in access to health services among Afghan refugees in Iran, offering important insights for healthcare providers in Iran.
The second paper, “The disparity in geographical accessibility to healthcare resources in Iran: the comparison of two cross-section”looks at healthcare services access development of all the provinces in Iran during 2007 and 2013. The data for 13 variables(e.g. physical and human health resources) was collected from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the Statistics Centre of Iran. Taxonomy technique was used to determine the degree of healthcare services access development in the provinces. Previous studies that examined disparities in access to healthcare resources in Iran only considered one resource. The paper concludes with some important findings on the decision-making processes and intentions of those with power to eliminate disparities in healthcare provision.
The third paper, “Mental health problems among youth in India and its correlates” assesses the prevalence and socioeconomic determinants of Common Mental Disorders among youth in India. Having worked in the field of children and young peoples’ rights,I was particularly pleased to read this submission. Shockingly, the paper reports that an estimated 11-31 million youth suffer from reported mental health problems in India. This is the first and the largest study conducted on a representative population of Indian youth to determine the correlates of reported mental health problems using GHQ-12. The researchers utilised data from “Youth in India: Situation and Needs 2006-2007”. Results suggest that the household and individual factors like place of residence, wealth quintile, age, education and occupation are the most important determinants of mental health problems among Indian youth. The extant literature and knowledge on the correlates of mental health among youth in India is thin and thus strengthening on-going programmes and creating awareness about mental health issues is imperative.
“Healthcare injustice in patients with sickle cell disease” (SCD) details the experiences that SCD patients associate with healthcare justice and injustice in pain control. This is the first study to report how SCD patients define healthcare justice and injustice. Specific details about memorable SCD patient-provider interactions and pain control are also described. The paper is based on a content analysis study of open-ended comments written by 31 participants who completed a 20-item Healthcare Injustice Questionnaire-Revised twice. Participants’ mean age was 33±10 years; most were African Americans and women. The findings point out to examples of justice and injustice while specific incidents and interactions with healthcare providers are discussed. The paper concludes with some key recommendation for healthcare SCD providers and policy makers such as the need for additional training on proper management of sickle cell pain; educational modules are also needed that address areas of healthcare injustice by patients.
The fifth paper brings us closer to home. “Bi-ethnic infant thermal care beliefs in Bradford, UK” looks at the differences in infant thermal care beliefs between mothers of South Asian and white British origin in one of the UK’ most diverse and deprived areas, Bradford. The study employed face-to-face interviews with semi-structured and structured questions with 51 white British and 51 South Asian mothers in the Bradford District. According to the findings, UK white British mothers were more concerned about overheating causing SIDS whereas South Asian mothers were more concerned about cold causing respiratory infections. However concerns around hypothermia and chills causing colds were expressed in both groups. White British mothers were significantly more likely to be concerned about their infant getting too hot than too cold and South Asian mothers about both heat and cold, but white British mothers on lower incomes and with poorer education expressed concern about cold more so than their better off, better educated peers indicating a possible link to fuel poverty. Whilst there guidance available to prevent infants overheating to prevent SIDS there is little or none about infants getting cold and how temperature affects other conditions. Thermal care behaviours and beliefs differ between ethnic groups. SIDS and overheating is only one concern for mothers in providing thermal care for their infants. The paper concludes that more policy and research is needed to explore the wider impact of thermal care on infant health and survival. This topic is rarely addressed despite the wide-ranging implications of heat and cold to infant well-being.
In the last paper “Systematic review of pertussis immunisation among Asians” the authors conducted a search on four electronic databases, namely, Medline, CINAHL, Embase and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. In total, 13 studies of relevance were included in the review after screening 206 articles to produce new data that are useful in providing insight into the general trends of pertussis immunisations among Asians and in aiding future research in this area”.
As always, your feedback is important to us. Whether you are an author or a reader of our journal, your views on the topics that we cover, is what drives the quality and depth of our work. Apart from bridging important gaps in the literature and international healthcare and human rights policy, our journal aims to maintain a two-way communication between its readership and authorship. While maintaining academic rigour in everything that we publish and claim, we also believe in the value of dialogue, questioning and respectful debate. As the Editor-in-Chief for this journal I will continue to encourage contributions from both established and junior researchers paying particular attention to international topics of current concerns and needs. This is also the ethos of publisher as well as the charitable Institution that I founded and continue to direct, The IARS International Institute. I hope that you will enjoy this issue and find its papers useful in your research, practice and campaigning.
Theo Gavrielides
