Description
Refugees and asylum seekers are among the most disadvantaged groups in any community yet there is limited information available on their health and social welfare needs, particularly at health or local authority level.
We describe how the technique known as rapid participatory appraisal has been used in a London Health Authority to provide qualitative information on the key issues facing the local refugee population and how the study is facilitating community participation in service development and delivery.
Our findings are relevant to other health and local authorities particularly in view of the new dispersal arrangements proposed in the Immigration and Asylum Bill 1999. The method may be particularly suitable for use in primary care settings such as Primary Care Groups.
