Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5693
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dc.contributor.authorJohnston, V-
dc.contributor.authorAllotey, P-
dc.contributor.authorMulholland, K-
dc.contributor.authorMarkovic, M-
dc.date.accessioned2011-07-29T11:13:06Z-
dc.date.available2011-07-29T11:13:06Z-
dc.date.issued2009-
dc.identifier.citationBMC International Health and Human Rights 9:1, Feb 2009en_US
dc.identifier.issn1472-698X-
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=19192307&query_hl=1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5693-
dc.descriptionThis article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund - Copyright @ 2009 Johnston et al.en_US
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Human rights violations have adverse consequences for health. However, to date, there remains little empirical evidence documenting this association, beyond the obvious physical and psychological effects of torture. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether Australian asylum policies and practices, which arguably violate human rights, are associated with adverse health outcomes. METHODS: We designed a mixed methods study to address the study aim. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 71 Iraqi Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) refugees and 60 Iraqi Permanent Humanitarian Visa (PHV) refugees, residing in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to a recent policy amendment, TPV refugees were only given temporary residency status and had restricted access to a range of government funded benefits and services that permanent refugees are automatically entitled to. The quantitative results were triangulated with semi-structured interviews with TPV refugees and service providers. The main outcome measures were self-reported physical and psychological health. Standardised self-report instruments, validated in an Arabic population, were used to measure health and wellbeing outcomes. RESULTS: Forty-six percent of TPV refugees compared with 25% of PHV refugees reported symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of clinical depression (p = 0.003). After controlling for the effects of age, gender and marital status, TPV status made a statistically significant contribution to psychological distress (B = 0.5, 95% CI 0.3 to 0.71, p </= 0.001) amongst Iraqi refugees. Qualitative data revealed that TPV refugees generally felt socially isolated and lacking in control over their life circumstances, because of their experiences in detention and on a temporary visa. This sense of powerlessness and, for some, an implicit awareness they were being denied basic human rights, culminated in a strong sense of injustice. CONCLUSION: Government asylum policies and practices violating human rights norms are associated with demonstrable psychological health impacts. This link between policy, rights violations and health outcomes offers a framework for addressing the impact of socio-political structures on health.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was supported by an Australian National and Medical Research Council PhD Scholarship (N. 251782) and a Victorian Health Promotion Foundation research grant (No. 2002-0280).en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherBioMed Centralen_US
dc.titleMeasuring the health impact of human rights violations related to Australian asylum policies and practices: A mixed methods studyen_US
dc.typeResearch Paperen_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-9-1-
Appears in Collections:Community Health and Public Health
Dept of Health Sciences Research Papers

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