Displaced children, like these in the Iraqi town of Qaraqosh, are remarkably resilient but not all thrive in their new countries. Here’s how we can help them.
New research into the health of newly arrived refugee children in Australia gives us clues about how we can help all refugee kids.
Migrant children often adapt to their host country much quicker than their parents.
Migrant children often become interpreters for their parents in settings like the doctor's office, legal situations and even in parent-teacher interviews. This can be a burden and affect their health.
Offshore detention centres cannot provide quality health care.
Health professionals have long warned that conditions in offshore detention centres are inhumane, degrading and pose life-threatening risks to asylum seekers and refugees.
The collapse of Syria's health system is helping spread leishmaniasis but not in the way some media outlets have reported.
Repeated trauma in childhood appears to change children’s enduring hormonal function and their subsequent brain development.
A bill that would release the 112 children currently in immigration detention in Australia will soon go before the House of Representatives. So what should MPs consider when casting their votes?
What should matter more to doctors – their patients’ wellbeing or the law?
Doctors at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital are refusing to discharge refugee children back into detention. Which should be a priority - their duty of care to their patient or the law?
Health professionals may be sentenced to two years in jail for the unauthorised disclosure of information about conditions in detention centres.
From July, doctors will no longer be able to fulfil their ethical and professional obligations to report mistreatment of detainees.
Deprivation and trauma and early childhood can affect the developing brain.
Australian Human Rights Commission
Many asylum seekers, including children, have experienced conflict, family separation and significant human rights violations. So how does immigration detention affect their mental health?
A drawing by a six-year-old child detained at the Christmas Island detention centre.
The federal government has tabled the long-awaited Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) report into children held in immigration detention. The report, which recommends a royal commission be held…
Newly arrived refugees face many obstacles to making healthy food choices.
Refugees settling in Australia constantly face new challenges. They have to re-adjust to new income levels, cultural practices and language. They also face a new food environment, where many traditional…
Immigration secretary Martin Bowles has rejected the notion of any cover up by the department relating to children in detention centres.
Immigration department secretary Martin Bowles has said his department was seeking advice about new data on the mental health…
Past failures cannot detract from the significance of documenting current abuses of children
The 1,000-plus children currently detained in immigration detention facilities in Australia and Nauru are at risk of serious mental health and developmental problems. The Human Rights Commission this week…
The use of medicine as an “instrument of violence” in both the Iraq War and the Syrian conflict shows how blurred the lines…
We know young refugees have an increased risk of depression, but this is only part of the story.
Image from shutterstock.com
Refugees and asylum seekers living in Australia are particularly vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal behaviours, but aren’t getting the specialised mental health care they need, according to a Spotlight…
Dangerous vitamin deficiencies may be missed in basic refugee health checks, the study found.
Refugees arriving in Australia often suffer from dangerous levels of Vitamin B12 deficiency, which can be fatal if left untreated…