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Refugees' Principal Health Issues Upon Arrival

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Refugees' Principal Health Issues Upon Arrival

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According to the Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide, refugees from Uganda, part of Sub-Saharan Africa, are likely to have several health concerns upon arrival, which include intestinal parasites, hepatitis C (HCV), and low vitamin D.

Different medications can be prescribed to treat intestinal parasite infections depending on the types of parasitic infections. Follow-up may be needed (Biggs et al., n.d.).

For those with HCV, the treatment involved 12 weeks of all-oral combination therapy. In most cases, they will need lifelong monitoring (Maclachlan et al., n.d.).

Refugees with low vitamin D are treated with oral supplements, usually paired with adequate calcium intake and sun exposure (Paxton & Singleton, n.d.).

Biggs, B., Kay, M., & Thamiran, A. (n.d.) Intestinal Parasites. Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide. https://refugeehealthguide.org.au/intestinal-parasites/

Maclachlan, J., Cowie, B., Isaacs, D., & Davis, J. S. (n.d.) Hepatitis C. Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide. https://refugeehealthguide.org.au/hepatitis-c/

Paxton, G., & Singleton, G. (n.d.) Low vitamin D. Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide. https://refugeehealthguide.org.au/low-vitamin-d/

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Bak Kwa, the Chinese salt-sweet barbeque pork jerky, is one of Malaysia's most popular Chinese New Year snacks. Many households will serve Bak Kwa to the visiting guests. We love to have bak kwa with Chinese tea.

Bak Kwa is a very versatile food. We can eat it by itself, with buns or rice. If you want to bring someone a gift for Chinese New Year, you can never go wrong with Bak Kwa.

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Lion dance, something loud and vibrant, is a traditional performance that two dancers do; one controlling the head, mouth and eyes movement, and another one controlling the movement of the body and tail.

We usually have a lion dance at special celebrations such as the opening of a new business, the grand opening of an event, weddings and Chinese New Year. The lion dance is to bring good luck and fortune.

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When I was a kid, Grandma taught me how to cut paper into the shape of Chinese words and animals. They are usually words that carry the meaning of blessings, such as joy, abundance, and prosperity.

I remember Grandma pasting those words on the door and furniture of my cousin's room on his wedding day. We also paste those words at our home's main entrance during Chinese New Year.

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To stay healthy is to avoid being unhealthy physically, mentally, and socially.

Staying physically active makes me feel fit and healthy; giving and receiving positive assurance and encouragement keep me mentally strong and help me maintain good relationships; getting enough sleep, I am still working on it; eating healthy food, absolutely; also, avoid risk behaviours.

Stay active, sleep, have a balanced diet, have a positive mental attitude, and stay safe; all these sound like a lot of discipline and hard work, but rewarding for sure.

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Reading about competency standard 12.1, I realised how I could be biased in making decisions due to my own cultural background and beliefs. Now that I have gained more understanding about different cultures and the trauma a migrant or refugee could have faced, I feel that I am more ready to deal with and care for people from a different culture I am not familiar with. I will be more sensitive, flexible and responsive when interacting with patients and their families. I will see what they see from their cultural lens to bring a positive impact on their health outcome.

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Chinese herbal eggs made by myself, Rina Tean.

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I was making Chinese herbal eggs for my children today with the following ingredients:

Red dates

Star anise

Cinnamon stick

Yok chok

Dong kwai

Chinese five spices powder

White peppercorn

Chinese tea leaves

Soy sauce

Caramelised dark soy sauce

Salt

Red dates and yok chok contributed sweetness to the soup; star anise, cinnamon stick, dong kwai, the five spices and tea leaves contributed to their unique yet subtle tanginess and bitterness; peppercorns added a slight spiciness; the soy sauces and salt helped to enhance and balance the unique senses keeping all in harmony.

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In recent years, refugees of similar backgrounds are being placed in the same rural towns. I want to discuss three social determinants and their health impact on these refugees: education, unemployment, and discrimination.

Education is limited in the rural areas, and it is expensive to travel to the metropolitan areas for education. To receive a certified education is challenging and almost impossible for those who are not well-versed in English. With education limitations, it is hard for many refugees to secure long-term employment.

Some refugees have the skills required but cannot practise their profession because their qualification is not recognised in Australia, and the process of getting it recognised is too complicated and expensive. With limited job opportunities in rural areas and education limitations mentioned above, the unemployment rate of refugees is high. With poverty, many refugees' health conditions are neglected.

Refugees also face discrimination during job applications, and they cannot get a job due to their cultural background. Sometimes, they were being told off because of their skin colour. Struggling under such demoralised conditions may cause depression and other mental health issues, making life harder for them.

Ziersch, A., Miller, E., Baak, M., & Mwanri, L. (2020, November 13). Integration and social determinants of health and wellbeing for people from refugee backgrounds resettled in a rural town in South Australia; a qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 20. Article 1700 (2020). https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-09724-z://bmcpublichealth.
biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-09724-z

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Red is the lucky colour for the Chinese. The Chinese usually fills red packets with money and give them as a present on special occasions such as birthday, wedding and Chinese New Year.

During Chinese New Year, the married will give red packets to their parents and grandparents, as well as the children and the non-married. You can imagine how many red packets we use every year.

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Most Malaysian know at least three languages: our mother tongue, Malay, and English. The most common language in Malaysia is Malay because it is the national language, and 70% of the population is Malay. I speak Hokkien and Cantonese with my family, and I learned Mandarin, Malay, and English at school. For the Indian, they get to learn Tamil at school too.