Key components of the CARE project
Healthcare model
The proposed healthcare model includes tools, processes and protocols for managing clinical contingencies and operational relationships between health staff and other stakeholders. This model will help the involved stakeholders to deal with migrants and refugees in a proper way, with regard to health protocols and procedures.
It will be implemented by multidisciplinary teams, composed of medical doctors (dermatologists, infectious disease doctors, paediatricians) adolescence psychologists and transcultural mediators, in order to ensure that migrants and refugees located in hotspots and migrants’ centres receive appropriate and integrated healthcare deliveries, including the age determination of unaccompanied minors.
Monitoring of migrants’ & refugees’ health status
The CARE project will develop an integrated system for tracking and monitoring the health status of migrants and refugees. It is based on: a) a software providing medical doctors and health care professionals with an interface enabling them to store health data into a local DB; b) a portable device, to be delivered to migrants and refugees, containing their health data and giving other doctors the possibility to read and update them.
Communicable diseases monitoring
A syndromic surveillance system will be developed and piloted in participating migrants’ and refugees’ centres of EU countries. The system is based on the collection of aggregated data on syndromes detected locally, in order to dispose of regular dispatches on health threats.
This will enable health authorities and practitioners to take relevant actions and thus also prevent cross-border health dangers.
Public health planning
The CARE project aims also to promote the development of integrated public health plans, relevant to migrants and refugees, based on synergies between the public sector and civil society organisations. For this purpose, evidence will be collected on best practices in migrants and refugees healthcare provision models and reports will be produced, including guidelines, sustaining new governance instruments for public health policies and thus evidence based ones.
Training
Health and non-health professionals (i.e. social workers, transcultural mediators, volunteers, law enforcement operators, etc.) will be trained for better tackling the healthcare needs of migrants at their first arrival, during their move and over their stay in the target EU Member States. Training will include the following topics: dermatological issues, communicable diseases, hygiene and safety, cultural issues and communication skills, psychological issues, how to work with unaccompanied minors and human trafficking. Training will focus on the use and practical application of the tools developed in the framework of the project.
Awareness raising
Awareness raising campaigns targeting the general public will be organised, with a focus on misconceptions about migrants and refugees. The campaigns will be conducted at local level, in areas of high concentration of migrants and refugees. For this purpose, information material will help combating stereotypes related to health threats. Furthermore, information materials will be also produced to inform migrants and refugees about their own rights to access healthcare services in EU Member States.
