Providing Care for Immigrant Children

Written By:
Paulette Campbell RN-BC, BSN, MJ
Certified Legal Nurse Consultant

Immigrant children are a diverse population of patients with very important health care needs. For the purposes of this article, it includes those who are non-documented, those who are citizens but parents may be undocumented and those who are internal adoptees. It is a group of children for which many child advocates and healthcare professionals have stated that they need a large voice to ensure that their health needs are met.

These children have common psychosocial needs which can impair their health. Some of those issues include:

• Depression, grief and anxiety
• Separation from support systems
• Post traumatic event syndrome (from living through wars, major natural disasters or persecution in countries of origin)

Another challenge that they present to the healthcare systems is the need for medical attention for diseases that are rarely diagnosed in the United States. Such diseases include:

• Malaria
• Schistosomiasis (parasitic disease most often found in Asia, Africa or South America)
• Hepatitis A
• Amebiasis (parasitic infection that most often manifests as an intestinal disease)

Further, those children who have not been screened at birth for congenital disorders, for a number of reasons, may have gone years without diagnosis or medical attention. Some of those conditions often include:

• Congenital Syphilis
• Hemoglobinopathies (inherited blood disorders involving abnormal hemoglobin)
• Inborn Errors of Metabolism
  

These children are often behind in their immunizations and/or lack the medical record that can speak to their health and immunization history. They often have developmental delays that may need services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. This is particularly true for those who are international adoptees. Healthcare providers have found that upon initial assessment, immigrant children are behind for both height and weight. However, with proper interventions and close monitoring, they are often able to catch up to age appropriate peers within one year.

The needs of immigrant children are integrally intertwined with their healthcare needs. Of course, needs for these children are vast and very important issues for not only healthcare providers but parents and advocates for these children. Advocacy issues can be enhanced by having someone whose focus is on the child’s medical needs. A review of their medical record by a third party such as Medical Jurisprudence, Inc can be beneficial for a variety of reasons. These include:

• Identification of needs for medical services
• Identification of needs for therapeutic services
• Identification of needs for medical equipment
• Identification of needs for counseling services
• Education to parents, caseworkers, CASA, attorneys and judges that can provide an understanding of medical history, current medical needs and future anticipated needs
• A third party who can ensure and follow-up to make sure that medical needs for the child are being met

For more information about our medical legal consulting services for child advocacy, please contact us at 630-551-0978 or email us at info@medicaljurisprudence.com.