Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in Mid-West, Ireland: a retrospective analysis

Abstract

Abstract Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, over 78,000 migrants have come to Ireland seeking protection. It is necessary to capture their demographics, to understand their immediate health concerns and to identify their additional service requirements to ensure that this cohort can continue to shelter healthily in Ireland. A retrospective cohort analysis was carried out on Health Needs Assessments (HNAs) undertaken for BOTPs in congregated settings. Date of entry to Ireland was captured on 1820 HNA forms returned to the Department of Public Health Mid-West Area E. Patterns in the demographics and the health service utilisation of arrivals, over the first year of conflict, were analysed. Participants were grouped by arrival date, Cohort 1 (24/02/22-20/09/22) (n = 1130) and Cohort 2 (21/09/22-03/03/23) (n = 690). The proportion of male adult arrivals increased from 32% in Cohort 1 to 36% in Cohort 2 and the proportion of older adults (>65 yrs) increased by 40% in Cohort 2. The respondents that reported being pregnant increased from 0.5% of females (aged >14) in Cohort 1 (n = 3) to 2.9% in Cohort 2 (n = 9). Cohort 2 reported lower uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, with 30% self-reporting as doubly vaccinated, compared with 44% of Cohort 1 (p < 0.01). There were no significant differences in child immunisation rates between Cohort 1 + 2. Chronic disease status in both cohorts were consistent, with some exceptions. Statistically significant differences were noted (p < 0.01) across different age groups for some chronic diseases, including heart disease and Diabetes Type 2. Differences in age and sex distributions between Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 will impact on the utilisation of health services. Higher rates of pregnancy may impact on primary care and maternity services. Low rates of child immunisation have resulted in the roll-out of a targeted catch-up vaccination programme for those aged 0-23 years. Predicting HNA trends will help to re-orient health services to meet the needs of these groups. Key messages • Differences in age and sex distributions between early (Cohort 1) and late (Cohort 2) arrivals will impact the utilisation of health services and must be accounted for when planning local services. • Predicting trends of chronic disease and health needs has enabled local health service teams to carry out targeted interventions to ameliorate health and health service access for these groups.