NURS3046 Nursing Project
Question:
Answer:
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) observes June 20 of every year as world refugee day to determine the strength, courage and preservation of millions of refugees to preserve and provide them with their rights (UNHCR, 2018). Australian Government also runs a program in which asylum seekers are provided with their health related rights, however it differs based on their arrival to the country and similarly they are being detained to off shores detention centers in spite of being affected with anxiety, depression, and other several post-traumatic stress disorder (ABC News, 2014). Here I will debate for the admission of such depression and anxiety affected asylum seekers within the Australian mental healthcare centers so that their healthcare related Human Rights could be protected.
As per the data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (), 65 to 85% of asylum seekers who are currently detained by the Australian government are suffering from depression anxiety and other mental illness. More than 95 % of children Asylum seekers who are detained in Nauru Island are suffering from suicidal ideations and post traumatic stress disorder (Parliament of Australia, 2018). Within these, 34 % children are severely ill. Further, the suicidal rate within this community is 10 times higher than the normal Australian population. Statistics also revealed that the length of the time of detention is directly proportional to the security of the mental disturbance faced by such communities due to which maximum adults and young people in asylum are involved in protest and end up having self-harming behaviors, which is 12 times more than the normal Australian population. if the duration of 2011 to 2013 is noticed, more than 4000 reports mentions serious self harm within immigration facilities has been registered. there are several type of traumatic experiences that such Asylum seeker communities has to face such as separation, sexual assault, physical and emotional torture, imprisonment, illness, solitary confinement and so on (World Health Organization, 2018). Moreover, after resettlement as well they suffer from ethnic or religious disturbance, social isolation, racism, domestic violence and dependency or helplessness that increases the grief and anxiety within them and make them suffer from depression (AMSA, 2018).
Further, the nature of offshore processing and detention centers also contribute in the emergence of Mental Health issue in search Asylum seeker communities (World Health Organization, 2018). The period of detention is very prolonged and full of uncertain activities that increase the sense of helplessness, dysfunctional thinking which magnifies with time and is shared by a group of community (Sanggaran, Haire & Zion, 2016). Such situation increases the frustration and distress leading to depression and anxiety. Healthcare arrangements in such detention centers are quite long and confusing as well as communities living in such centers are not provided with enough information. Hence, leads to limiting the access of Mental Health Services present in Nauru and Manus Island (The Guardian, 2016). Researchers also determined that health professionals working in such detention centers are not much concerned about the health of people living there (Radio New Zealand, 2018). Thereby, these conditions increase the risk of suicidal ideation post-traumatic stress disorder depression self arm and anxiety.
Therefore, it is important to provide them with mental healthcare interventions within the Australian mental healthcare facilities so that the rate of suicidal ideation, which is 46% and 26% in the men and women of asylum seekers respectively, can be decreased (AMSA, 2018). The Australian healthcare rights and health professional’s social code of conduct also deter mines that health is the fundamental right of every person living on this world and it is their duty to provide that person with quality care so that such rights can be protected (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2018; Durham et al., 2016). The Human Rights places health as the basic fundamental right with food, education and shelter, which signifies that each person living in any corner of this world, reserves the right of quality healthcare and denial of such right can be treated as violating the basic human right of that person (Equality Human Rights, 2018). Besides these if we think on moral and social grounds, it is the duty of each human being living in a society to help in the upliftment of others so that they can also become a stable and strong part of the society. Detainment of such asylum seekers in places, where they are unable to receive their basic fundamental rights, the notion of human dignity is destroys the social structure of humans (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2018). Therefore, as per the ethical code of conduct and keeping the human rights in mind, the asylum seekers present in different locations outside the Australia and suffering from mental distress, should be provided with healthcare interventions within the Australian healthcare facilities so that their adverse condition can be prevented and their upliftment can be commenced.
References
ABC News. (2014). Rate of mental disorders higher in offshore detention centres: report. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-26/asylum-seekers-in-offshore-detention-suffering-mental-health/5477392
AMSA. (2018). Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Australia. Retrieved from https://crossingborders.amsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Module-2.pdf
Durham, J., Brolan, C. E., Lui, C. W., & Whittaker, M. (2016). The need for a rights-based public health approach to Australian asylum seeker health. Public health reviews, 37(1), 6.
Equality Human Rights. (2018). How can we realise the right to health for asylum seekers? | Equality and Human Rights Commission. Retrieved from https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/blogs/how-can-we-realise-right-health-asylum-seekers
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2018). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia – Professional standards. Retrieved from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards.aspx
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2018). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia – Professional code of conduct. Retrieved from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards.aspx
Parliament of Australia. (2018). Health care for asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island – Parliament of Australia. Retrieved from https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2012-2013/AsylumSeekersHealthCare
Radio New Zealand. (2018). Manus healthcare ‘drastically reduced’ – Amnesty International. Retrieved from https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/357649/manus-healthcare-drastically-reduced-amnesty-international
Sanggaran, J. P., Haire, B., & Zion, D. (2016). The health care consequences of Australian immigration policies. PLoS Medicine, 13(2), e1001960.
The Guardian. (2016). Healthcare in detention | Australia news | The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/healthcare-in-detention
UNHCR. (2018). World Refugee Day, 20 June – UNHCR. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/refugeeday/
World Health Organization. (2018). Refugee and migrant health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/migrants/en/
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