Do referrals work? Responses of childbearing newcomers to referrals for care.

BACKGROUND: Health care post-birth may include referrals for additional care. Migrant (i.e., refugee, asylum-seeker, and immigrant) women frequently do not follow-up referrals for care and could be at increased health risk as a consequence. We sought to explore the inhibitors and facilitators of migrant women for following through with referrals for care. METHODS: Twenty-five women living in Montreal who had received a referral completed semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Inhibitors included language barriers, transportation problems, scheduling appointments, absence of husband, absence of childcare, cold weather, perceived inappropriate referrals, and cultural practice differences. Facilitators included choice of follow-up facilitator, appropriate services, empathetic professionals, and early receipt of information. DISCUSSION: Results indicate that migrant women may not be receiving the care they and their newborns need once a concern is identified. This suggests conceiving of a different approach to the care of this population post-birth, which could include partnering with social or religious networks.

[Sexual abuse and negligence: same causes, same effects, same treatment?]. / Abuse sexuels et négligence: mêmes causes, mêmes effets, même traitement?

The issues surrounding sexual abuse and negligence are rarely examined in parallel by researchers and social workers. Based on a review of relevant literature and on a preliminary analysis of data collected during two surveys, the authors present in this article a comparison of these two subjects. In short, sexual abuse and negligence do not seem to differ fundamentally when it is a matter of establishing the state of health of victims once under the care of authorities and of choosing a type of psychosocial intervention. However, the researchers do look closely at very different risk factors when analyzing the family environment and the characteristics of the actors involved.