MD(Res) Scholarship 2020: Lauren Waterman; King's College London

Project Title: From Immigration Detention Centres into the Community: Health, Coping and Unmet Needs of Formerly Detained Migrants

Start Date: February 2020

Supervisors and Mentors: Dr Rosie Mayston, Professor Martin Price, Professor Cornelius Katona, Dr Jessica Potter, Dr Andrew Forrester

Summary of the Research:

Background:

The UK detains three times more people in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) than any other European country, whilst they await deportation or permission to remain in the country. Detention in IRCs is known to cause severe health consequences for asylum seekers and other migrants, a population of people already vulnerable to psychiatric illness and with complex physical health needs. Nearly two-thirds of those detained are subsequently released into the community, often suddenly. National bodies and government commissioned reports have expressed grave concerns about the lack of safe continuity of care after release. Little research has explored the experiences of people following release from immigration detention into the community.
 

Aims:

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• To explore migrants’ experiences of the transition from detention to release, including: physical and mental health, barriers to and facilitators of healthcare access, perceived support, social stressors, and coping.

• To identify unmet health and social needs during this transition period. 

• To explore which healthcare or charity sector services were deemed beneficial by recipients, and what additional supports may be beneficial. 

• To explore the barriers and facilitators to providing effective care, including continuity of care, from the perspectives of policy-makers, service providers, frontline healthcare and charity sector staff and ex-detainees. 

• To make recommendations for policy development to improve continuity of healthcare and psychosocial support following release from IRCs, and for further research in this field. 

 

Methods:

1) A systematic review and narrative synthesis of qualitative research will be conducted, exploring how immigration detention contributes towards psychological symptoms and mental illness in migrants.

2) Qualitative research interviews with migrants previously detained in UK IRCs will explore their experiences of transition from detention to release into the community and their views about how their health and social needs might be better supported during this time. Interviews and focus groups with charitable sector workers, healthcare workers and service providers will review the challenges that arise when supporting ex-detainees’ health and social needs. The data collected will be analysed to identify emerging themes.

3) Additionally, an audit of IRC healthcare records will be conducted, with a particular focus on mental health screening and planning for continuity of care.

4) The findings from the above three studies will be synthesised and presented to a panel of stakeholders, including experts by experience.

5) We will then use Theory of Change workshops - an approach that connects key stakeholders to identify priority outcomes and pathways to achieving these.

6) Findings from the qualitative research and recommendations from these workshops will be disseminated to stakeholders via presentations, articles and reports. Parliamentary dissemination will be a priority.

Patient and Public Involvement:

This research has been co-developed and will be delivered with active stakeholder involvement. At every stage we are collaborating with experts by experience from campaigning group Freed Voices who have previously experienced detention in IRCs. One expert by experience is a co-applicant and will be involved in interviewing participants and data analysis. In response to stakeholder input, the aims were refined with greater focus on post-detention continuity of care, an issue considered critical.