Health and well-being of refugees and migrants within a politically contested environment

Abstract

This chapter examines how living in a politically contested environment affects the health and well-being of refugees and migrants, with particular emphasis on three main and interconnected factors: control of access to health care, individual response to pre-migration factors, and the effects of a general political ‘shift’ (Brexit). It first provides an overview of the sociopolitical contexts of health and migration before discussing the contexts of support for refugees and migrants. It then describes the segregation of services for trafficked people, the politicisation of health care in terms of accessing services and the gatekeeping of treatment based on immigration status in the UK, and the correlation between health and the experience of (forced) migration. It also analyses the public/political discourses regarding the health and well-being of migrants and refugees and concludes by assessing the potentially far-reaching implications of Brexit for the health of migrants in the UK.