Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27677957›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2016

A lost tribe in the city: health status and needs of African asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong.

William Chi Wai Wong, Sealing Cheng, Eleanor Holroyd, Julie Chen, Kelley Ann Loper, Lynn Tran, Heidi Yin Hai Miu

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for equity in health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

William Chi Wai WongDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, Rm 3/F., 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong. wongwcw@hku.hk.
Sealing ChengThe Anthropology Department, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Eleanor HolroydSchool of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Julie ChenDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, Rm 3/F., 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.
Kelley Ann LoperThe Department of Law, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Lynn TranDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, Rm 3/F., 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.
Heidi Yin Hai MiuDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, Rm 3/F., 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.
University of Hong Kong · HKAuckland University of Technology · NZChinese University of Hong Kong · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHong Kong's resistance to be a signatory of the 1951 Geneva Convention and lack of domestic policies in this area has resulted in restrictions on access to healthcare amongst asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs). Using social determinants of health framework this study sought to identify health practices, problems and needs of African ASRs in Hong Kong.

methodsA cross-sectional survey comprising of six domains including health status, health-seeking behaviour and social experience targeted at adult African ASRs in Hong Kong was conducted through three local non-governmental organisations between February and April 2013. Outpatient care and inpatient care in the past 12 months were used as proxy measures of general and severe ill health respectively. Associations between the determinants of health factors with general or severe health was explored through logistic regressions.

resultsMajority of 374 participants were young, single, educated males having been in Hong Kong for over 5 years. A third of ARS (36.1 %) screened positive for depression. Most reported problems related to basic necessities (64.7-78.6 %) and access to health services (72.2 %). ASRs with relatively less education, health awareness or higher risk behaviours were less likely to have obtained outpatient or inpatient services. African ASRs reporting problems with case officers (aOR = 2.80; 95 % CI = 1.35-5.79) or illness in the past 30 days (aOR = 6.00; 95 % CI = 2.94-12.25) were more likely to report general ill health. Similarly, problems with the case officers (aOR = 3.76; 95 % CI = 1.97-7.18) and self-reported illness in the past 30 days (a​OR = 3.32; 95 % CI= 1.68-6.57) were also significantly associated with severe ill health. At the health system level, those who reported experiencing difficulties accessing the medical services in Hong Kong are 3.29 (95 % CI = 1.48-7.31) and 4.12 (95 % CI = 1.73-9.79) times as likely to report general and severe ill health respectively.

conclusionThe host government should have moral and ethical obligations to attend to the health needs of ASRs. Evidently a number of structural and health system factors have significantly impacted the health of African ASRs in Hong Kong. Changes to current policies regarding how African ASRs are handled whilst in Hong Kong but, more immediately, improvements in healthcare access are needed.

Indexed as

Access to healthHealth needsHong KongHuman rightsRefugees

Identifiers

PMID27677957
PMCPMC5039797
OpenAlexW2527485027

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.