Immigrants are coming from 150 countries," notes Dr. Kevin Pottie of the University of Ottawa, who co-authored the guidelines. "Some of them come as refugees, some under family class. So, there's a large diversity of needs and potential preventable and treatable illnesses [that] the average family doctor just isn't thinking about."
Pottie hopes to develop an international set of guidelines in terms of treating migrants.
"We need to see health as a human right, and small interventions are all that's needed for all immigrants," Pottie said in an interview with CBC News.
The guide, titled Evidence-based Clinical Guidelines for Immigrants and Refugees, instructs physicians on how to deal with the kind of health risks faced by the 357,000 annual migrants to Canada, including refugees, international students and migrant workers.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/07/25/immigrant-health-guidelines.html
