[Abortion in Melilla: barriers to ocean and frontier]. / Aborto en Melilla: barreras de océano y frontera.

OBJECTIVE: To provide insights into the challenges faced by women seeking abortion services in Melilla, Spain. It seeks to describe the journey these women undertake and to identify and analyze the barriers they encounter in accessing abortion care. METHOD: A qualitative research approach was employed, involving a series of eight semi-structured interviews during 2022. Three interviews were conducted with national experts in the field of abortion, while five interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals from the Melilla Health Area who are directly involved in providing abortion services and supporting women throughout the process. The study was guided by a theoretical framework that focuses on barriers to abortion access and sexual and reproductive rights. The collected data was analyzed using content analysis and categorized based on key dimensions of the study. RESULTS: The study identified several significant barriers to abortion care access in Melilla. These include conscientious objection among healthcare providers, the geographical remoteness of Melilla, the legal challenges faced by Moroccan women due to their irregular status, and the requirement of parental consent for minors aged 16 and 17. Consequently, women seeking abortion services are forced to travel to mainland Spain, continue with undesired pregnancies, or resort to unsafe clandestine abortions in Morocco, thereby endangering their lives in the worst cases. CONCLUSIONS: The barriers to abortion access identified in this study represent a violation of women's reproductive rights in Melilla. Urgent action is required to review the current process, ensuring that access is improved and the right to safe abortion is guaranteed for all women residing in Melilla.

Aborto en Melilla: barreras de océano y frontera / Abortion in Melilla: barriers to ocean and frontier

Objetivo: Describir el recorrido que realizan las mujeres para abortar en Melilla, así como identificar y analizar las barreras para su acceso. Método: Investigación cualitativa con un total de ocho entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas durante 2022 a tres personas referentes en el tema del aborto de ámbito nacional y a cinco profesionales del Área de Salud de Melilla implicadas tanto en la prestación como en el recorrido que hacen las mujeres para poder abortar. El marco teórico que se siguió fueron las barreras de acceso al aborto y los derechos sexuales y reproductivos. Se realizó un análisis temático del contenido y por categorías según las dimensiones del estudio. Resultados: Se han identificado varias barreras de acceso al aborto en Melilla, entre las que destacan la objeción de conciencia, la localización geográfica de Melilla, la situación irregular de las mujeres marroquíes y la necesidad de consentimiento en las menores de 16 y 17 años. Estos obstáculos obligan a las mujeres que quieran abortar a trasladarse a la Península para conseguir el procedimiento, a continuar con un embarazo no deseado o, en el peor de los casos, a someterse a un aborto clandestino en Marruecos poniendo en riesgo su vida. Conclusiones: Las barreras de acceso descritas suponen una vulneración y una violación del derecho al aborto en Melilla. Se debe revisar el recorrido que se ven obligadas a hacer las mujeres de forma que se facilite el acceso y se garantice el derecho a un aborto seguro a todas las mujeres residentes en Melilla.(AU)

Objective: To provide insights into the challenges faced by women seeking abortion services in Melilla, Spain. It seeks to describe the journey these women undertake and to identify and analyze the barriers they encounter in accessing abortion care. Method: A qualitative research approach was employed, involving a series of eight semi-structured interviews during 2022. Three interviews were conducted with national experts in the field of abortion, while five interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals from the Melilla Health Area who are directly involved in providing abortion services and supporting women throughout the process. The study was guided by a theoretical framework that focuses on barriers to abortion access and sexual and reproductive rights. The collected data was analyzed using content analysis and categorized based on key dimensions of the study. Results: The study identified several significant barriers to abortion care access in Melilla. These include conscientious objection among healthcare providers, the geographical remoteness of Melilla, the legal challenges faced by Moroccan women due to their irregular status, and the requirement of parental consent for minors aged 16 and 17. Consequently, women seeking abortion services are forced to travel to mainland Spain, continue with undesired pregnancies, or resort to unsafe clandestine abortions in Morocco, thereby endangering their lives in the worst cases. Conclusions: The barriers to abortion access identified in this study represent a violation of women's reproductive rights in Melilla. Urgent action is required to review the current process, ensuring that access is improved and the right to safe abortion is guaranteed for all women residing in Melilla.(AU)

Cross-Sectional Study on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Using OHIP-14 in Migrants Children in Melilla (Spain).

Quality of life is a parameter that not only evaluates clinical parameters, but also refers to the perception of the individual in his or her sociocultural context. It also refers to psychosocial aspects that have a very important impact on people's lives. Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) must also be considered when assessing oral health in any population for which an oral health program is to be developed. On this premise, and taking into account the precarious situation of refugee children housed in the Temporary Center for Migrants (CETI) in Melilla (Spain), a study was conducted to assess the oral health and OHRQoL of the children housed in the aforementioned facility. For this purpose, the 120 children in care at the time of the study underwent a basic epidemiological examination according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), and their OHRQoL was assessed using the specific OHIP-14 questionnaire. The results show a state of oral health with a high caries prevalence (95%), high DMFT, and dft indices for the studied population. The oral health-related quality of life perceived by these children shows that pain and psychological discomfort are the areas rated worst by them. Thus, it is concluded that it is important to implement specific oral health programs for this population, based on caries prevention and pain management, which must also take into account the psychological and sociocultural aspects that have accompanied their lives.

Epidemiological Study of Oral Health among Children and Adolescent Schoolchildren in Melilla (Spain).

Dental epidemiological studies are essential for analysing and evaluating the population's health state and dental treatments provided, as well as for planning future oral health programme activities and interventions based on their findings. In order to determine the health condition of children and adolescents in connection to the prevalence of caries, caries indices (decayed and filled teeth (dft) for primary teeth and decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) in permanent teeth) and periodontal indices (community periodontal index (CPI)), oral exams of children and adolescents aged 6, 12 and 15 from selected schools were conducted. To assess the achievement of the oral health objectives set for Spain in 2020, these data were compared with those acquired at the national level. At 6 years of age, 278 children were examined, the prevalence of caries was 55.6%, the dft index was 2.77 (±3.44), the DMFT was 0.19 (±0.16), the restorative index (RI) was 4.62%, and the significant caries (SiC) index was 8.40 (±2.07). At 12 years of age, 208 students were examined, the prevalence of caries found was 65.86%, the DMFT index was 1.85 (±2.22), the RI was 36.63%, the SiC index was 5.43 (±2.07), and children without the presence of periodontal pathology was 59.13%. At 15 years of age, 165 students were examined, the prevalence of caries was 70.06%, the DMFT was 3.08 (±3.39), the RI was 42.42%, the SiC index was 8.10 (±2.55), and adolescents without periodontal disease was 47.90%. Conclusions: Melilla-born children and adolescents had higher caries indicators and indices than the corresponding national averages for Spain. Teenagers under the age of 15 have a particularly high frequency of dental caries. The investigation of the children's origin is where there is the most disparity. Children of Berber descent have much higher values than children of European heritage.

Oral Health in migrants children in Melilla, Spain.

Numerous developing countries' socioeconomic and political issues resulted in a significant migratory phenomenon, which poses a health burden for the nations that receive migrant populations. Often, the greatest age group of migrants is children and teens. Oral problems are one of the most common reasons that immigrants in the receiving nations visit the healthcare system. Cross-sectional research was conducted on children and teenagers housed at the Temporary Stay Center for Immigrants (CETI) of the Autonomous City of Melilla (Spain) with the aim of identifying the state of the oral cavity of these group of migrants. Information on the condition of the research group's oral cavity was gathered using the World Health Organization's standards. The research comprised all of the children and teenagers who were enrolled in the CETI for a defined period of time. A total of 198 children were assessed. It was determined that 86.9% of the youngsters were of Syrian descent. There were 57.6% males and a 7.7 (±4.1) average age. The average caries index for children under the age of six was dft =6.4 (±6.3), and for children aged six to eleven, it was 7.5 (±4.8), taking into account both the temporary and permanent dentition, and for children aged twelve to seventeen, it was 4.7 (±4.0). A total of 50.6% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 needed extractions, compared to 36.8% of children under the age of 6. The population under study had a significant incidence of sextants where bleeding occurred during periodontal probing (mean 3.9 (±2.5)), according to an examination of the community periodontal index (CPI). It is crucial to study the oral cavity status of refugee children when designing intervention programs to improve their oral health and provide health education activities that favour the prevention of oral diseases.

Platos olvidados o de consumo ocasional en la gastronomía española: Ceuta y Melilla / Forgotten dishes or occasional consumption in Spanish gastronomy: Ceuta and Melilla

Por su situación, al norte de África y limítrofe con el Mediterráneo, la gastronomía de Ceuta y de Melilla son una mezcla de sabores y olores inspirada en platos mediterráneos, europeos y africanos. La gastronomía melillense también está influida por el mestizaje cultural de sus gentes, ya que desde hace siglos conviven las cuatro religiones más importantes del mundo, cristianos, judíos, musulmanes e hindúes, algo que se refleja en su variada gastronomía. (AU)

Due to their location, in North Africa and bordering the Mediterranean, the gastronomy of Ceuta and Melilla are a mixture of flavors and aromas inspired by Mediterranean, European and African dishes. Melilla gastronomy is also influenced by the cultural fusion of people, since for centuries the four most important religions inthe world have lived together, Christians, Jews, Muslimsand Hindus, something that is reflected in itheir varied gastronomy. (AU)