The political discussion about responsibility for this mess goes on and on. As always, the politics are debatable and inconclusive. The political debate appears to offer no immediate solution for these children or their families. What I do know is that this problem of detention, congregate living, and separation presents a host of health issues unfamiliar to many of us.
Thus, I have reached out to several colleagues from around the IHP to provide us with current thinking on a number of issues that should concern all of us, especially those who will be caring for these children. Reading through the contributions of our colleagues makes me proud of the capability and insight of those with whom we work. At the same time, reading this makes me worry for the future of these young children and their families. I will start posting these contributions daily and invite you to read, share with your students, and extend a thank you to the writers.
Finally, if you would like to contribute to this blog on a topic I may have overlooked, don't be shy. Send me your contribution and I will happily post it. This appears to be a small step that we can take today. This is a health problem and education is almost always the answer.
General Health Concerns:
Prepared by
Dr. Patrice Nicholas, School of Nursing
The American Public Health Association released a statement
on June 15, 2018 entitled Separating
Parents and Children at US Border Is Inhumane and Sets the Stage for a Public
Health Crisis. The statement notes that the Trump administration’s policy
of separating parents and children at the U.S. and Mexico border will negatively
affect the detained children and their health, both now and into the
future.
"As public health professionals we know that children
living without their parents face immediate and long-term health consequences.
Risks include the acute mental trauma of separation, the loss of critical
health information that only parents would know about their children’s health
status, and in the case of breastfeeding children, the significant loss of
maternal child bonding essential for normal development. Parents’ health would
also be affected by this unjust separation.”
"More alarming is the interruption of these children’s
chance at achieving a stable childhood. Decades of public health research have
shown that family structure, stability and environment are key social
determinants of a child’s and a community’s health.”
"Furthermore, this practice places children at
heightened risk of experiencing adverse childhood events and trauma, which
research has definitively linked to poorer long-term health. Negative outcomes
associated with adverse childhood events include some of society’s most
intractable health issues: alcoholism, substance misuse, depression, suicide,
poor physical health and obesity.”
The full text of the statement can be viewed here:
Adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and
neglect. ACEs are strongly related to the development and prevalence of a wide
range of health problems throughout a person’s lifespan, including those
associated with substance misuse. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) addresses the health consequences associated with ACEs.
ACEs include:
- Physical
abuse
- Sexual
abuse
- Emotional
abuse
- Physical
neglect
- Emotional
neglect
- Intimate
partner violence
- Mother
treated violently
- Substance
misuse within household
- Household
mental illness
- Parental separation or divorce
- Incarcerated household member
For the children detained in the
current circumstances, they are experiencing parental separation, incarcerated
household member, and their own incarcerated circumstances in “tender camps”
which are tantamount to serving in jails/cages.
The full text of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention website on ACEs can be viewed here:
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