An interview with Marie Claire Balaam who submitted a poster presentation to the VIDM 2020 entitled A review of perinatal social support interventions for asylum seeking and refugee women resident in Europe

In this interview you will learn more about 

Visit www.vidm.org for more information on VIDM 2020

Abstract

In 2018 over 638,000 people applied for asylum in Europe, half of these were women. Asylum seeking and refugee women frequently experience socioeconomic marginalisation, low levels of social support and poor physical and mental health, often exacerbated in the perinatal period, when women struggle to access optimal maternal healthcare.

There is a lack of evidence on which interventions are most effective in addressing the needs of asylum and refugee women at this time. In order to fill this gap a Critical Interpretive Synthesis was undertaken. Our findings suggest community befriending interventions may be most effective in supporting asylum seeking and refugee women in this period. There is little evidence that asylum seeking and refugee women have been consulted as to what support would be most useful to them. 

The involvement of asylum seeking and refugee women in the design of future interventions is paramount in ensuring that their needs are met.