Yes / Many asylum seekers have complex mental health needs which can be exacerbated by the challenging
circumstances in which they live and difficulties accessing health services. Regular moderate physical activity can improve
mental health and would be a useful strategy to achieve this. Evidence suggests there are barriers to engaging black and
minority ethnic groups in physical activity, but there is little research around asylum seekers to address the key barriers
and facilitators in this group.
Methods: A two stage qualitative study used semi-structured interviews underpinned by the Theoretical Domains
Framework. The interviews were conducted in voluntary sector groups in four towns/ cities in Northern England.
Purposive sampling recruited 36 asylum seekers from 18 different countries. Interviews were audio recorded,
transcribed verbatim and subject to framework analysis. Stage two involved a nominal group technique with five key
stakeholders including asylum seekers and those that work with them. They followed a four stage process to rank and
reach consensus on the key barrier to undertaking physical activity/ exercise that could be addressed locally through a
future intervention.
Results: A number of barriers and facilitators were identified including a lack of understanding of the term physical
activity and recommended levels but knowledge of the health benefits of physical activity/ exercise and the
motivation to increase levels having engaged with activities back home. Living as an asylum seeker was considered a
barrier due to the stress, poverty and temporary nature of living in an unfamiliar place. The outcome of the nominal
group technique was that a lack of knowledge of facilities in the local area was the prevailing barrier that could be
addressed.
Conclusions: Public health practitioners could develop interventions which capitalise on the motivation and knowledge
of asylum seekers to encourage an increase in physical activity which may in turn reduce the breadth and depth of
mental health needs of this group. / Internal funding was received from the University of Bradford
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/16526 |
| Date | 19 June 2018 |
| Creators | Haith-Cooper, Melanie, Waskett, Catherine, Montague, Jane, Horne, Maria |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, Published version |
| Rights | © 2018 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), CC-BY |
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