Disability among refugees and asylum seekers in Italy. Results from a global health perspective

Limited evidence exists on the proportion ofrefugees and asylum seekers with disabilities, and knowledges about this target population are lacking. The objectives of the present investigation were a) mapping reception centers for hosting refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities; b) estimating the percentage of people with disabilities and examining the risks for specific migration routes; and c) highlighting the needs of refugees and asylum seekers using a global health perspective. We used the Washington Group Short Set Enhanced for estimating prevalence of disability, while Community-Based Rehabilitation Indicators were used to investigate their global needs. A total of 483 refugees and asylum seekers were interviewed on the whole national territory. The percentage of people with disabilities was 23.81, with a high prevalence of mental health problems, namely anxiety (18.22%) and depression (9.94%). Migrants who travel across the central Mediterranean route showed a high risk for disability condition (OR 2.08), with higher prevalence of anxiety (OR 2.19), while people who travelled the Balkan route seem to be a higher risk for mobility limitations (OR 3.03). The availability for hosting migrants with disabilities in reception centers is limited: 2.03% of the total national availability, with different distribution among regions. Disparities for each component of community-based rehabilitation indicators were also found, namely in health, education, social, livelihood and empowerment. Differences in access to healthcare services among migrants were also observed, in particular Ukrainian group seems to be more likely to get medical assistance, probably due to specific norms and communication strategies adopted by EU and Italy. The “Ukrainian Model” for refugees could be used for the general migrant population, in order to guarantee protection and adequate reception in host countries.