Bakgrund: Antalet flyktingar världen över ökar och fortsätter enligt UNHCR:s mätningar att öka och utgör därmed även en växande patientgrupp. Flyktingars tillgång till vård påverkas negativt av flertalet faktorer vilket kan ge allvarliga konsekvenser för deras hälsa. Sjuksköterskan är ofta flyktingarnas första kontakt med hälso- och sjukvården i ankomstlandet och spelar därför en viktig roll i att överkomma dessa hinder. Syfte: Att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att möta och vårda flyktingar inom hälso- och sjukvården. Metod: En kvalitativ litteraturstudie som följde Polit och Becks niostegsmodell, kvalitativa originalartiklar inkluderades och analyserades med tematisk analys enligt Braun och Clarke. Resultat: Tre teman med åtta underteman identifierades: Utmaningar i yrkesrollen med underteman att förstå varandra samt komplexitet och en vidgad yrkesroll. Känslor och dilemman och underteman svåra känslor och hanteringsstrategier, inställning till flyktingar samt etiska dilemman. Utmaningar för god omvårdnad med underteman strukturella hinder, behov av mer kunskap samt tid – en bristvara. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskor upplever ett antal hinder i vården av flyktingar, varav kommunikationssvårigheter är det enskilt största. Här är tolken ett viktigt verktyg. Vidare forskning kring tolkar och deras funktion i vårdmötet behövs för att identifiera såväl framgångsfaktorer som hinder kring kommunikation via tolk. / Background: The number of refugees worldwide is increasing and, according to UNHCR's measurements, continues to increase and thus also constitutes a growing patient group. Refugees' access to care is negatively affected by several factors, which can have serious consequences for their health. The nurse is often the refugees' first contact with health care in the country of arrival and therefore plays an important role in overcoming these obstacles. Aim: To describe nurses' experiences of meeting and caring for refugees within the health care system. Method: A qualitative literature study that followed Polit and Beck's nine-step model, qualitative original articles were included and analyzed using thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke. Result: Three themes with eight sub-themes were identified. The main themes were challenges in the professional role, emotions and dilemmas and challenges for good nursing. Conclusion: Nurses experience several obstacles in the care of refugees, of which communication difficulties are the single greatest. Here the interpreter is an important tool. Further research on interpreters and their function in the care meeting is needed to identify both success factors and obstacles regarding communication via an interpreter.

Background Based on the Global Trends report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, in high-income countries, there are 2.7 refuges per 1,000 national population, girls and women account for nearly 50 percent of this refuge population. In these high-income countries, compared with the general population refuge women have higher prevalence of mental illness. To our knowledge this is the first systematic review that addresses access to mental health services for refugee women in high-income countries. Thus, this review was conducted to examine the barriers to and facilitators of access to mental health services for refugee women in high-income countries for refugee resettlement. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched for research articles with qualitative component (including mixed-method or multi-method with qualitative component), in order to examine barriers and facilitators related to accessing mental health services. Relevant studies were collected on March 14, 2020 and were extracted and critically appraised by multiple authors. A narrative synthesis was conducted with the included studies to gather key synthesis evidence. Results Of the four databases searched, 1258 studies were identified with 12 meeting the inclusion criteria. The major barriers identified were language barriers, stigmatization, and the need for culturally sensitive practices to encourage accessing mental health care within a religious and cultural context. There were several studies that indicated how gender roles and biological factors played a role in challenges to accessing mental health services. The major facilitators identified were service availability and awareness in resettlement countries, social support and the resilience of refugee women to ease access of mental health services. Conclusion This review revealed socio-economic factors contributed to barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health among women refugees and asylum seekers. Addressing those social determinants of health can reduce barriers and enhance facilitators of access to mental health care for vulnerable populations like refugee women. Although there is a difference in health access policy among the top resettlement courtiers, the review found that there are no significant differences in accessing mental health for refugee and asylum seeker women among leading resettlement countries. The review findings suggest the need for further research on this topic given the potential significance of the findings on refugee and asylum seeker women mental health.

On March 4, 2022, the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) was activated as a response to a mass influx of Ukrainian refugees. The Directive was ratified by the EU member states already in 2001, following the events of the refugee crisis caused by the Kosovo conflict. Still, it remained unemployed until 2022, when Europe faced yet-another intra-regional conflict. The implementation of TPD has generated a heated academic debate regarding the Directive’s essence and the motivations behind its implementation. Varying from geopolitics to racism, many reasons have been provided when reasoning the Directive’s current implementation and previous non-implementation. This thesis studied the implementation through a critical migration theory lens, with the aim of locating economic motivations impacting the decision to activate the Directive. Therefore, by utilizing the question ‘How can the motivations for implementing the Temporary Protection Directive be understood in light of the Directive’s economic aspects?’ for this particular purpose, the thesis found that the economic aspects of the Directive come to the fore both in commodification as well as selectivity of migration policy. First, the TPD beneficiaries’ unique migration category is generated through its differentiation of legal rights in – and access to – the host country when compared to the refugee status and subsidiary protection. And second, the TPD has the ability to select and therefore target specific groups through its limited scope of protection to cover either a specific country or geographical area. In this way, the thesis contributed to the discussion regarding the logic behind the implementation of TPD.

This essay presents a case study about the development of income levels in the medical sector during Sweden´s period of modernization, 1890-1920, focusing specifically on the five wage groups which comprised the medical staff at Uppsala´s Ulleråker hospitalum (=mental asylum). This institution, though different in it´s stated mission from hospitals and the like, was similarily organized, and staffed with employees belonging to the same categories as regular hospital staff - they shared similar social backgrounds, education levels, work tasks and conditions. This was thanks to the centralized nature of the Swedish medical sector, which was governed mainly by the Medicinal Board, which in turn was influenced by the government on one side, and influential individuals, schools for medical education and employee organisations/unions on the other. The objective of the essay is to establish a timeline of the wage development, and to identify factors which influenced this development. Furthermore, it seeks to identify differences between genders, wherefore the male orderlies and female nursing aides are given special focus throughout. Although the hospitalum has been the subject of previous books, the financial records have never been used in research before. The essay begins with presenting a history of Swedish societal development - and the simultaneous development of the medical sector - before moving on to establish a timeline of the nominal wage data. Using methodology developed by previous historical wage development research, it then calculates the real wages with the help of a converted consumer price index. It also makes use of a separate, in-depth study to try and showcase differences between genders; primarily, it calculates the share of bonuses of total income and what the maximum earning capacity of the male and female staff was. The essay concludes that the wage development was influenced by multiple factors. Primarily, education level was a crucial factor for the employee in securing higher wages. Not only did it serve as basis for securing higher wages, it also came with the bonus of educational organisations oftentimes aiding their graduates in discussion with prospective employers. Secondarily, collective bargaining (and, from 1904, unions), along with influential members of the national doctor´s corp (who were realizant about the need for better work conditions in order to retain talented employees) allowed the staff to directly influence decisions in the Medicinal Board, and use the conditions at other medical institutions as motivation for implementing improvements. Additionally, larger societal trends also played a part. In particular, the real wages show clearly that the wage development to a great extent followed the trends in cost of living, and obviously the extreme influence of World war I also necessitated extreme adjustments - though, interestingly, these adjustments consisted more of increased bonus payouts that wage increses, perhaps due to bonuses being easier to lower or discontinue after the expensive times were over. In all, education appears to have been the most important factor in securing high wages - other research reveals some wage groups used professionalization to improve their work conditions, to the detriment of lower level wage groups. Since market forces had little impact on the medical sector, due to it not producing marketable goods and services or competing for workers, collective bargaining and larger societal developments became the main influences for less educated staff.

This study investigates frailty, defined as the accumulation of deficits in physiological functioning, by applying the Skeletal Frailty Index (SFI) to a skeletal sample (N=67) recovered from the Mississippi State Asylum (MSA), and in a comparative sample, the Terry Collection. The SFI was statistically modified to increase its utility here. Variables that influence frailty, including age, sex, stress in early-life, and resilience, were assessed relative to four SFIs: Overall, Nutritional, Activity, and Infection. This study finds that the predicted relationships between the SFIs and the aforementioned variables are largely absent in the MSA sample. When compared to individuals in the Terry, MSA individuals generally manifest a lower prevalence of biomarkers but have reduced longevity, which suggests that MSA patients experienced higher frailty and lower resilience. This may be attributable to negative biosocial experiences over the life course prior to institutionalization, but primarily to often-negative environmental conditions during institutionalization.

In 2014, the decision of the European Court of Justice on the A, B, and C, case was a landmark moment in refugee law. Namely, it theoretically rang the death knell of the use of stereotypes on sexuality in refugee status determination. This study draws on reflexive thematic analysis of judgments of the French National Court of Asylum to explore whether stereotypes persist and, if so, what meaning they entail. It argues that the French National Court of Asylum seems to privilege essentialist, homonationalist, and cis-homo-normative understanding of refugee subjects. In doing so, this thesis identifies problematic areas and engages with them, drawing on recent literature on the subject.

This research explores the causes and incentivizing factors behind the irregular migration of Syrian asylum seekers to Sweden. The study highlights the opinions from 9 Syrian asylum seekers with previous irregular migration experiences to Sweden. The results show that Syria’s conscription law (the compulsory military service), Sweden’s liberalized asylum policies, and lacking social networks in the state of destination were the main determinant contributing factors for irregular migration. For participants obtaining a passport required completing the military service period however the participants rejected the military service, as a result, they lacked passports, consequently, their regular routes were limited. The liberalized asylum regime in Sweden in terms of its lenient procedures towards irregular migration attracted the participants to migrate irregularly. Likewise, lacking social networks at the destination state decreased the employment chances for the participants and as a result, the work permits and regular pathways through the labor market were limited.

This project deals with the experiences of asylum-seeking persons in their struggle to receive protection in different European countries, exploring how the sense of belonging is shaped during fragmented migration journeys. Conducting biographic-narrative interviews with five persons I met while working in a community centre in Greece, the research shifts the gaze from exclusionary citizenship regimes to migrant agency, revealing the distinct tactics, perceptions and performances of belonging on the move. The findings highlight the dynamic nature of belonging, challenging the notion that migration necessarily implies a rupture with significant attachments. Encounters with state and asylum authorities and regulations are experienced as renewed instances of insecurity, hindering belonging, whereas the community centre offers solace and alternative membership. The research partners express a pragmatic sense of “elective belonging” in Germany and Switzerland, based on long-awaited security and existential mobility, despite weakened community ties and the constraints imposed by European migration policies.

"Where the power of the wall is to deny, the power of the door is to permit, and allow entry. 1" Borders are represented on maps as thick, predetermined lines that delineate, separate, and segregate one area from another. A whole is divided into two or more parts. Borders become boundaries and, in reality, are abstract and intangible, often responsible for creating both geographic and political havoc. In between a border are thresholds that signal a transition between layers, spaces, times, and countries. This project engages within this Liminal space, an in-between of the threshold. Prompted by humanitarian and political crises, thousands of people are fleeing their homes in search of safety and protection from danger, including persecution for protected reasons such as race, religion, nationality, or political opinion. Many, like unaccompanied minors, travel dangerous paths to seek asylum at one of these borders, which promise safety and security from the violent conditions in their countries. In the USA and elsewhere, seeking asylum is a human right. Simultaneously, thousands of people whose claims for asylum are unsuccessful are detained, deported, or repatriated. In 1873, Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, the 27th President of Mexico (1872 to 1876) declared, "Let there be a desert between strength and weakness." The United States of America and the United Mexican States share a historically-contested 1,954-mile border. Any wall separating two countries belongs to both countries. This thesis considers borders as more than places that close or delimit one place from another, but also as opportunities to expand into living and organic spaces. Borders both delimit and negotiate between two sides of neither a single state nor a single place but as thresholds which hundreds of thousands of separate lives navigate every single day along the border regions. This thesis explores how architecture focused on empowering at-risk asylum seekers can shape the border space. In particular, the chosen design proposes a Halfway House on the threshold space between the twin-sister borderplex of Laredo, Texas, United States of America, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. / Master of Architecture / Borders are represented on maps as thick, predetermined lines that delineate, separate and segregate one area from another. A whole divided into two or more parts. Borders become boundaries and in reality, are abstract and intangible, often responsible for creating both geographic and political havoc. In between these borders, is where we find liminal space. Prompted by humanitarian and political crises, thousands of people are fleeing their homes in search of safety and protection from danger, including persecution of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion. Many people, including unaccompanied minors, travel dangerous paths to seek asylum at one of these borders, which promise safety and security from the violent conditions in their countries. In the USA and elsewhere, seeking asylum is a human right. Simultaneously, thousands of people whose claims for asylum are unsuccessful are detained, deported, or repatriated. This thesis considers borders as more than places that close or delimit one place from another, but also as opportunities to expand into living and organic spaces. Borders both delimit and negotiate between two sides of neither a single state, nor a single place but as thresholds which hundreds of thousands of separate lives navigate every single day along the border regions. This thesis explores how architecture focused on empowering at-risk asylum seekers can shape the border space. In particular, the chosen design proposes a halfway house between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.

Abstract  This research investigates the effects long asylum procedures have on young adult refugees and their integration process. The aim is to uncover through conducting interviews with individuals their views and experiences regarding their own integration. The participants who were chosen fit the description of having been in the asylum procedure for more the 3 years. The research was carried out in 10 weeks and utilized by the use of qualitative methods and the use of interviews.  The findings have shown that the effects of the long wait on young adults have both negative as well as positive impacts. Negative in terms of restricting the individuals’ further involvement in society and their self-improvement. Another negativity is the more they wait the less motivated they get to integrate and the fewer chances they have in the labor market. Positive in terms of the longer they wait the more they are integrated when it comes to their language and the norms in the society. These results contribute to the understanding of the effects of long waiting times on young adults which is a topic that has not been researched enough. Previous research has covered the effects of long waits on refugees with a focus on the job market and language integration. However, young adults who have mastered the Swedish language and have already integrated in some ways have been ignored. This research aims to fill this gap. This study implements the theories of Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence (1989) and Giddens’ Ontological Security (1984) to further make sense of the stories provided by the participants and to find out the link between their integration and the long wait.