Integration as a way to reducing health inequalities among forced migrants: A collaborative and knowledge building project.

Helse blant innvandrere utvikler seg over tid i Norge. Helse og integrering henger sammen på forskjellige måter: god helse kan føre til integrering, men integrering kan også føre til bedre helse. Disse sammenhengene kan likevel gå i begge retninger: dårlig integrering kan gi dårlig helse, som igjen kan gjøre integrering vanskelig. Denne studien undersøker utvikling av helse blant flyktninger fra Syria som har nå bodd i Norge i fire år og prøver å finne ut hvordan av denne dynamikken over tid. Etter en forbedring i de fleste helseparametre det første året ser vi at enkelte utkommer blir verre igjen etter noen år og vi studerer hvordan dette henger sammen med integrering og selvopplevd diskriminering, blant andre faktorer. Vi har også gjennomført en pilot av en intervensjon som har inkludert innvandrere med helsefagligbakgrunn i akademiske fagmiljøer. Vi er i ferd med å finne ut om slike intervensjoner kan gjennomføres i større skala og hvilke effekt integrering i meningsfulle aktiviteter gir bedre helse for deltakere og forbedrer kulturell kompetanse i de akademiske miljøene. Vi forventer at resultatene skal være publisert i løpet av neste år.

Health professionals with refugee origins, either must endure long waits to get their education approved or may never obtain it due to administrative barriers. On the other hand, the health sector in Norway, lacks a culturally competent workforce and students lack sufficient exposure to cultural diversity as part of their education. Inclusion is a key European political priority and the new National Curriculum Regulations for Norwegian Health and Welfare Education obliges educational institutions to include cultural competence in their programs. To address these challenges, the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and University of Bergen are committed to improve diversity among teachers and students. However, there is neither a clear strategy nor available evidence on how this inclusion might impact migrants, their families, or the institutions themselves. This research action brings together two of the largest Norwegian projects working for a healthier integration of refugees: CHART (Changing Health and health care needs Along the Syrian Refugees’ Trajectories to Norway) study and the REFUGE (Resettlement in Uprooted Groups Explored) study. We hypothesise that; the relationships between health and integration are circular rather than linear and present integration as key to improve health and wellbeing for forced migrants. Our study will harness the on-going collaboration across institutions with different roles, competences and capacities, including migrant themselves, towards a better understanding of the intertwined links between health and integration, paving the way for co-creation, implementation and evaluation of an innovative intervention. Our proposal is thus a potential driver for further measures promoting welfare, health and integration of migrants.