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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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
Since the Immigration Reform Act of 1996, asylum seekers arriving in the country without documentation are more likely to be detained in INS facilities or county jails, pending adjudication of their asylum claims. At any given time, nationally, an estimated 1500 to 3000 asylum seekers are in INS detention; in the NYC area, there are 400 detained asylum seekers. Immigration policies of imprisoning asylum seekers in the US and other western nations have raised concern for human rights violations and potentially deleterious effects on mental health. Asylum seekers are likely to suffer from potential pre-migration trauma, post-migration stress, and psychiatric morbidity. In a study of 53 detainees at INS facilities, we discovered a high rate of psychological morbidity consistent with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire: anxiety (74%), depression (83%), and PTSD (47%). 75% had prior experiences of torture and a substantial portion had experienced and/or witnessed either verbal or physical abuse or segregation while detained. Further, two-thirds of detained asylum seekers wanted mental health counseling, but less than one-third actually sought care. Of those who sought care, only a small percentage received professional mental health services not affiliated with INS. The questions that remain are whether detained asylum seekers are aware of their psychological distress, the extent to which professional counseling is sought, and whether detention in INS facilities is appropriate for asylum seekers. Detention may exacerbate their risk of further psychosocial stress. This discussion examines the political and psychological implications of detention on asylum seekers.
Learning Objectives:
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.