Exploring stigma and its effect on access to mental health services in unaccompanied refugee children.

Abstract

Aims and methodDespite substantial evidence to show that unaccompanied refugee children suffer a high prevalence of mental illness, their access to services remains poor. One may hypothesise that this is associated with their negative perceptions of mental illness. However, there has been little research exploring this important subject. We aimed to explore unaccompanied refugee children's experiences, perceptions and beliefs of mental illness, focusing on stigma. Fifteen unaccompanied refugee children and 15 carers were interviewed by a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified, focusing mainly on issues of stigma related to mental health, mental illness and their treatment, and they were interpreted in detail.Clinical implicationsOur findings will contribute to current understanding of stigma and discrimination, and their effect on service engagement, and will hopefully stimulate interest to further explore this area and develop potential solutions.Declaration of interestNone.