The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #42490

Allen Keller, MD¹, Doug Ford, JD², Chau Trinh-Shevrin, MS³, Chris Meserve, MD⁴, Barry Rosenfeld, PhD⁵, Emily Sachs, BA¹, John Wilkinson, MS¹, and Jonathan Leviss, MD¹. (1) Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, NYU School of Medicine, 462 First Avenue, 7th Floor, C & D Building, New York, NY 10016, 212-263-8269, ask45@aol.com, (2) Physicians for Human Rights, 100 Boylston Street, Boston, NY 02116, (3) Institute for Urban and Global Health, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, (4) Division of Primary Care, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, (5) Psychology, Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458

Introduction: Asylum seekers, including torture victims, arriving in this country without documentation are likely to be kept in INS detention pending adjudication of their asylum claims. This can take several months or even years. There are many concerns about the well-being of detained asylum-seekers and their treatment while in INS Detention. However, no formal studies have evaluated these issues.

Methods: We interviewed detained asylum-seekers in INS detention facilities in the New York City area. Demographic and social characteristics, experiences while in detention, were collected via a standardized self-report questionnaire. Anxiety and depression were measured with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HCS-25); PTSD was measured with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ).

Results: Among 45 detained asylum seekers interviewed, reports of personal experiences of abuse while in INS detention facilities were common: 58% verbal; 16% physical; 27% segregation; and 49% threatened segregation. Reports of witnessed abuses on others were even higher: 78% verbal, 16% physical, 96% segregation of others, and 96% threatened segregation.

75% of participants reported a history of torture in their native country. Detainees had significant symptoms consistent with anxiety (74%), depression (83%), and PTSD (47%). One-third reported that they believed that their psychological/emotional health worsen while in detention. Follow-up data suggest that among those released, psychological morbidity were significantly less for released versus detained asylum seekers.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that mistreatment of asylum seekers in INS Detention may be common. Psychological symptoms among detained asylum seekers are frequent and detention may be contributing to this psychological morbidity.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to
• Describe the experiences of asylum seekers held in detention by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS)
• Identify the psychological symptoms frequently seen in detained asylum seekers
• Discuss the potential impact of detention on the health of asylum seekers.

Keywords: Special Populations, Special Needs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.