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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2021; 11(02): 84-92
DOI: 10.4103/ajm.ajm_136_20
Original Article

A retrospective review of specialist referrals for refugees into Greece’s health system: A humanitarian organization’s perspective

Vanessa Yarwood
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, London, UK
,
Meghan Gunst
Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, Australia
,
Christine Yen-Ting Chen
Mount Sinai St Luke’s-West Hospital Center, New York, NY, USA
,
Kate Jarman
Norwegian Red Cross, Norway
,
Sakib Rokadiya
Bart’s Health NHS Healthcare Trust, London, UK
,
Majd Isreb
Syrian American Medical Society, Washington, DC, USA
,
Aula Abbara
Syrian American Medical Society, Washington, DC, USA
Imperial College, London, UK
› Author Affiliations
Subject Editor: Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Aim: Refugee arrivals to Europe have numbered more than one million since 2015 with the majority arriving through Greece. The healthcare needs of refugees have placed strains on Greece’s healthcare system which has already been affected by its ongoing economic crisis. At the peak of arrivals during 2016, primary healthcare was primarily provided by humanitarian organizations with specialist referrals into the Greek healthcare system. There is little published literature on the type and impacts of specialist referrals for refugees in Greece. The aim of this retrospective review is to identify the type and impacts of specialist referrals for refugees into Greece’s health system. Methods: This retrospective study reviewed the number and type of specialty referrals from one humanitarian organization providing primary healthcare for refugees in Greece. All consultations during an 8-month period (December 1, 2016–July 31, 2017) were reviewed. Results: Of 4168 consultations, 42% were patients aged 17 years or younger, 52% were male, and 90% were Syrian. Two hundred and thirty-three patients (11%) required a specialist referral; 25% were for dental (provided by another humanitarian organization), 10% each for obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics, and 8% for ophthalmology. Respiratory complaints were most frequently seen, and these were more predominant in the winter months. Pediatric consultations varied according to month, likely due to population movements. Conclusion: Dentistry was noted to be a gap in humanitarian response programming and accounted for the greatest need for specialist input with referrals for women and children accounting for a large proportion of referrals.

Keywords

Dental - Greece - health system primary care - refugee health - specialist care - Syria


Publication History

Article published online:
06 August 2021

© 2021. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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