Ensuring the right of migrant children to health care: The response of hospitals and health services

Author/s: Ana Isabel Fernandez Guerreiro, Fabrizio Simonelli, Rosa Gloria Suarez Lopez Vergara, Alberto Armas Navarro, Sara Darias Curvo, Anna Zapulla, Anders Hjern, Lynda Stokes, PJ. Boyle
Year:
Language: English
Publication Type: Background/ Discussion paper(External)

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Description

In the context of migration of children, how do hospitals and health services respond to the needs and rights of children within the wider framework of child protection and healthcare provision? This paper deals with the response of hospitals and healthcare services to the right of migrant children to healthcare in relation to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the holistic concept of health. On the one hand, the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a comprehensive and complex framework of protection for all children around the world in all their life settings. On the other hand, the concepts of health and healthcare have evolved in the last decades and hospitals and health services are called to include, not only preventive, curative and palliative care, but health promotion activities as well.

Moreover, hospitals and health services are called to empower patients and enable them to gain control of their own health and to address the social determinants of health. The paper presents the contribution of the Task Force on Health Promotion for Children and Adolescents in and by Hospitals and Health Services in ensuring the respect of children’s rights in hospitals, and provides examples of good practices by hospitals and health services in Europe in relation to challenges posed to the community, hospital management and health professionals. Finally, four case-studies are presented to discuss infurther detail what is being done and what can be learned from those experiences.
 
Content:
  • Conceptual and legal framework for the respect, protection and fulfilment of migrant children’s right to healthcare
  • The role of hospitals and health services in respecting migrant children’s right to healthcare
  • The Task Force on Health Promotion for Children and Adolescents in & by Hospitals and Health Services: contributing to the respect of children’s rights in hospital
  • Situation Analysis
  1. Cultural change in the community for advocacy of migrant children’s health and development
  2. Cultural change in the hospital following the rights based approach
  3. Organisational change of services provided to migrant children Professional change for a health promotion approach oriented to migrant children
  • Case-Studies:
  1. Cultural change in the community for advocacy of migrant children’s health and development
  2. Cultural change in the hospital following the rights based approach
  3. Case-study 3. Progetto Intercultura: reorganising services at hospital level to respond to the needs and rights of migrant children
  4. Case-study 4. “Easing Transitions’ – the case for child-centred interdisciplinary work with asylum seeking children in Ireland
  • Emerging findings
Publisher
International Organization for Migration