This helped enhance my understanding of the importance of a family and support system and individuality has on the well-being of the patient.

 

By understanding the importance of this knowledge, I would be able to provide optimal care to my patient while respecting their right, collaborate with the patient and family on the process of care and hear out their grievance and doubts while providing emotional and moral support, and helping them in their decision making regarding the nursing care plan and method.

Migrant and Women`s Health Partnership. (2019). Culturally Responsive Clinical
Practice: Working with People
from Migrant and Refugee
Backgrounds. https://moodleprod.murdoch.edu.au/pluginfile.php/3573073/mod_resource/content/1/Culturally-responsive-clinical-practice-Working-with-people-from-migrant-and-refugee-backgrounds-Jan2019.pdf

Refugees often grapple with mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression due to their exposure to highly traumatic events before, during, and after their migration journey. Furthermore, their mental well-being is further strained as they adapt to life in a new country, contending with language barriers, economic challenges, and potential stereotyping (Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide).

For effective treatment, it's crucial to reduce the stigma around seeking therapy and ensure that refugees are willing to participate in therapy sessions. This can be achieved by making mental health services affordable, accessible, open-minded, nearby, and by garnering trust through referrals from humanitarian community groups and organisations. It's essential to approach both individuals and the entire refugee community with cultural competence (Tomasi et al., 2022).

2. Hepatitis B (HBV)

Due to unsanitary conditions and exposure to contaminated bodily fluids in their home country and refugee camps, as well as unsafe injection practices in Afghanistan, many Afghan individuals face a high risk of contracting the HBV virus. It has been documented that the Afghan population has the highest prevalence of HBV (as reported in the Kirby Institute Surveillance Report, 2015).

To address HBV, it is essential to assess the vaccination history of individuals. If they do not have a vaccination record, they should begin a catch-up schedule to receive all the necessary doses. Additionally, it is crucial to educate refugees about HBV, emphasizing the importance of vaccination and informing them about where they can access vaccination services. To proactively prevent this infection, it is also necessary to implement mass screening and testing, taking appropriate and timely prophylactic measures
3. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Refugees, due to the significant stress stemming from their circumstances, are at a heightened risk of engaging in drug use (specifically injection drugs) and engaging in unsafe sexual practices with multiple partners. This heightened risk of HIV transmission is exacerbated by the absence of regular medical screenings and reluctance to undergo screening due to the stigma associated with HIV.

This can be addressed by:

• Delivering tailored information, education, and communication
services
• Dispensing sterile needles and syringes • Advocating for and
distributing condoms
• Offering services for the management and prevention of
sexually transmitted infections
• Providing access to basic healthcare,
including abscess care
• Referring drug users for opioid substitution therapy
and voluntary HIV counseling and testing
services


Australian Immunisation Handbook. (n,d). Vaccination for migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. https://immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au/contents/vaccination-for-special-risk-groups/vaccination-for-migrants-refugees-and-people-seeking-asylum-in-australia

 

 

 

Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide (2023). Australian Department of Health. https://refugeehealthguide.org.au/category/common-health-issues/

 

 

Kirby Institute. (2015). Annual surveillance report of HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs. https://www.kirby.unsw.edu.au/research/reports/annual-surveillance-report-hiv-viral-hepatitis-stis-2015

 

 

Siddiqui, J. A., Vohra, L. I., & Essar, M. Y. (2023). HIV in Afghanistan: challenges, efforts and recommendations. Annals of medicine and surgery (2012), 85(4), 1291–1293. https://doi.org/10.1097/MS9.0000000000000096

 

Tomasi, A., Selwan-Younan, S., Narchal, R., & Rioseco, P. (2022). Understanding the mental health and help-seeking behaviours of refugees. https://aifs.gov.au/resources/short-articles/understanding-mental-health-and-help-seeking-behaviours-refugees

 

United Nations. (n,d). Scaling up HIV-related services for Afghan refugees who use drugs. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/hiv-aids/scaling-up-hiv-related-services-for-afghan-refugees-who-use-drugs.html

 

Ward, W. J., & Averhoff, F. (2011). Refugees, Mass Casualties, and Hepatitis B Transmission, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol 204(3), Pages 338–339, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir371

 

 

World Health Organization. (2023). Social determinants of health. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_1