Medical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients in medical institutions for people without residence permit in Germany and Switzerland

Schätzungen zufolge leben in Deutschland bis zu einer Million und in der Schweiz bis zu 300 000 Menschen ohne Aufenthaltsstatus. Das Leben in der Illegalität kann zu komplexen Problemlagen führen. Diese Studie behandelt die medizinische Dimension dieser Problematik. Der Zugang zur Regelversorgung des öffentlichen Gesundheitswesens ist kaum gegeben. Das Ziel dieser Studie ist es, zwei Patientenkollektive von medizinischen Anlaufstellen für Menschen ohne Aufenthaltsstatus hinsichtlich ihrer soziodemographischen Zusammensetzung und Erkrankungsspektren zu untersuchen. Es handelt sich um eine retrospektive Auswertung von Patientendaten der Projekte „open.med“ in München und „Meditrina“ in Zürich im Zeitraum von Januar 2007 bis Juni 2008.It has been established that there are approximately up to 1,000,000 migrants without a residence permit in Germany and 300,000 in Switzerland. Life in illegalised situations leads to problems which influence daily life on numerous levels. This study deals with the medical complex of this problem in the form of the analysis of two medical institutions that provide services to people without residence permits in Munich and Zurich. This analysis focuses on the comparison of the socio-demographic structure of the group and the range of medical conditions that occurs, as well as the access to those medical facilities. It is a retrospective analysis of patient data from January 2007 to June 2008 from the institutions “open.med” in Munich and “Meditrina” in Zurich in terms of age, gender, place of birth, legal status, health insurance, and the patients’ medical conditions. The results of the analysis show that the group of people without residence permit is a very heterogeneous group with a wide range of illnesses. However, there is an emphasis on Latin American women in their early 30s with the need of gynaecological und prenatal care. Further studies are required in the field of medical care for undocumented migrants