Better primary health care for refugees - Catch up immunisation

Copyright © 2007 Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Copyright to Australian Family Physician. Reproduced with permission. Permission to reproduce must be sought from the publisher, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.BACKGROUND Many newly arrived refugees come from countries with fragile primary health infrastructure. As a result they may have had patchy primary immunisation against vaccine preventable diseases. OBJECTIVE This article outlines key considerations in developing an effective catch up immunisation program for refugees. DISCUSSION The potential challenges include knowing which vaccines to give to provide catch up vaccination, access to appropriate vaccines through public health units, and adequate follow up to support completion of immunisation courses. The most useful immunisations for adolescent and adult refugees are adult diphtheria/tetanus, measles/mumps/rubella, inactivated polio, and hepatitis B vaccines. Immunisation programs for refugees require cooperation between primary health care practitioners and health policy makers to ensure that good primary health care is available to the most vulnerable groups arriving in Australia.Christine B Phillips; Jill Benso