What are reasons that refugee children seek for emergency health care in Lesbos island, Greece:a cross-sectional study; Primary data collection.

Abstract:   BACKGROUND: Millions of people have fled from their countries, due to war or conflict, in order to find a safer environment for themselves and their children. One common destination is Europe, which people can reach only through the sea from the Turkish coast to the Greek coast after walking hundreds of kilometers through the mountains. This long journey has a significant impact on refugee children’s health and that is primarily observed in the Greek islands were they can seek for emergency health care. The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons that the refugee children seek for emergency help in the hospital of Lesbos, Greece.   METHODS: Primary data collection from the medical records of the Pediatric department of the hospital of Lesbos. Statistical analysis of the data with R commander 3.2.1.The results will be presented in diagrams and tables, showing the most common symptoms/clinical findings, diagnoses, origin, gender, hospitalization or not of the refugee children and the relation of the symptoms and diagnoses in accordance with the seasonality, age, gender and origin calculated with Chi² and Chi² Fischer test.   RESULTS: Respiratory tract infections and gastro-intestinal tract infections are the first two most common diagnoses by far. Almost half of the refugee children that were submitted in the Hospital of Lesbos needed hospitalization and further treatment. More than half of the refugee children that sought after emergency help in the hospital of Lesbos were Syrians and boys. Mental health was also a big issue.   CONCLUSION: The journey that the refugee children are undertaking in order to reach the Greek islands and the prolonged living in refugee camps and detention centers is affecting their mental and physical health, with respiratory tract infections and gastro-intestinal tract infections being the major diagnoses.