The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority groups as well as people in jails and immigration detention centers in the United States. Between April and August of 2020, the mean monthly COVID-19 case ratio for ICE detainees was 13.4 times that of the general U.S. population. This s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | SSM: Qualitative Research in Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321522000348 |
| _version_ | 1811178074640744448 |
|---|---|
| author | Elizabeth K. Singer Kevin Molyneux Khushmit Kaur Niathi Kona Gabriel Santos Malave Kim A. Baranowski |
| author_facet | Elizabeth K. Singer Kevin Molyneux Khushmit Kaur Niathi Kona Gabriel Santos Malave Kim A. Baranowski |
| author_sort | Elizabeth K. Singer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority groups as well as people in jails and immigration detention centers in the United States. Between April and August of 2020, the mean monthly COVID-19 case ratio for ICE detainees was 13.4 times that of the general U.S. population. This study aims to understand the experiences of detained asylum seekers during the pandemic and to provide insight into COVID-19's impact on this population's health. This qualitative study employed first-person, in-depth narratives obtained from 12 asylum seekers, all of whom were detained in immigration detention centers or prisons during the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic and were subsequently released. Detained asylum seekers reported inadequate medical care, obstacles to receiving care, an inability to social distance, poor hygiene, restricted movement, and a lack of infection control-- all which increased their risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 and exacerbated health inequalities brought to the forefront by the pandemic. Advocating for improved disease prevention and screening, prompt access to health care and treatment, cohorting of infectious cases, and community alternatives to detention to decrease the detained immigrant population sizes are crucial to halt communicability of the virus and its subsequent morbidity and mortality in this vulnerable population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:13:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b62f82e6c173460c99988faf26d9a037 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-3215 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:13:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM: Qualitative Research in Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-b62f82e6c173460c99988faf26d9a0372022-12-22T04:41:09ZengElsevierSSM: Qualitative Research in Health2667-32152022-12-012100072The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemicElizabeth K. Singer0Kevin Molyneux1Khushmit Kaur2Niathi Kona3Gabriel Santos Malave4Kim A. Baranowski5Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA; Department of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA; Corresponding author. Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA.Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USADepartment of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USADepartment of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USADepartment of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USACOVID-19 disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority groups as well as people in jails and immigration detention centers in the United States. Between April and August of 2020, the mean monthly COVID-19 case ratio for ICE detainees was 13.4 times that of the general U.S. population. This study aims to understand the experiences of detained asylum seekers during the pandemic and to provide insight into COVID-19's impact on this population's health. This qualitative study employed first-person, in-depth narratives obtained from 12 asylum seekers, all of whom were detained in immigration detention centers or prisons during the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic and were subsequently released. Detained asylum seekers reported inadequate medical care, obstacles to receiving care, an inability to social distance, poor hygiene, restricted movement, and a lack of infection control-- all which increased their risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 and exacerbated health inequalities brought to the forefront by the pandemic. Advocating for improved disease prevention and screening, prompt access to health care and treatment, cohorting of infectious cases, and community alternatives to detention to decrease the detained immigrant population sizes are crucial to halt communicability of the virus and its subsequent morbidity and mortality in this vulnerable population.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321522000348COVID-19Immigration detentionHealthHealth inequalitiesSocial determinants of health |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth K. Singer Kevin Molyneux Khushmit Kaur Niathi Kona Gabriel Santos Malave Kim A. Baranowski The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic SSM: Qualitative Research in Health COVID-19 Immigration detention Health Health inequalities Social determinants of health |
| title | The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | The impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | impact of immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 Immigration detention Health Health inequalities Social determinants of health |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321522000348 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elizabethksinger theimpactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT kevinmolyneux theimpactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT khushmitkaur theimpactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT niathikona theimpactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT gabrielsantosmalave theimpactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT kimabaranowski theimpactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT elizabethksinger impactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT kevinmolyneux impactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT khushmitkaur impactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT niathikona impactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT gabrielsantosmalave impactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic AT kimabaranowski impactofimmigrationdetentiononthehealthofasylumseekersduringthecovid19pandemic |