Module 1 – 2 Introducing the course

 Introducing the course

The design of the course emerged from interviews with refugees, general practitioners, and personnel involved in different levels of the organization of primary health care for refugees in Austria as well as via an international systematic and narrative literature review and an expert consensus meeting:

In Workpackage 2 of the EUR-HUMAN project qualitative research methods (Participatory, Learning & Action (PLA)) were applied to retrieve evidence about the health needs, views on and experiences with healthcare of refugees and other newly arriving migrants throughout their journey in Europe:

Central health problems Lack of continuity of care Structural issues
  • disabilities or injuries,
  • mental health problems,
  • pregnancy related issues,
  • dental problems and
  • chronic conditions.
  • lack of information on previous treatment
  • lack of personal health record)
  • difficulty to obtain chronic medication during the journey
  • lack of knowledge among healthcare workers about care available in the “next” country
  • time pressure,
  • lack of facilities,
  • administrative barriers

Workpackage 3 elicited what prior research and guidelines regarding refugees have already shown and what strategies have been recommended.

Workpackage 4 resulted in a comprehensive collection of tools and guidelines for optimal primary care for refugees and other newly arrived migrants. Throughout the course we reference to these tools and guidelines. Furthermore, on the 8th and 9th of June 2016, the project EUR-HUMAN invited sixty-nine international experts from fourteen different countries to meet in Athens, Greece. The experts discussed and found a consensus on what primary health care for refugees/migrants/asylum seekers ideally consists of under the current circumstances and what has to be done to achieve this.

Basing on this groundwork, this online course allows you to provide primary care for refugees in an informed, integrated, person centred, as well as competent and secure way (for the refugee and the provider).

Please, complete the pre-test, the e-learning and the post-test of each module. At the end of the course after the completion of the last modules´ post-test, you will be given a certificate with a code number. Please print out the certificate. You will be asked for it when you register for the DFP-diploma programme of the Austrian Chamber of Physicians!