Afternoon r/science - sharing the results of a study into the health of children seeking asylum in Australia helmed by UNSW paediatrician and PhD student, Dr Lahiru Amarasena.

The research analysed the health assessments of 62 children and young people held on Nauru, an Australian immigration detention facility, and found physical and/or mental health difficulties in almost all children in the sample.

The team also found that 94% of children had exposure to one adverse childhood experience, 40% had exposure to one or more types of abuse or neglect and 63% had witnessed trauma.

Dr Amarasena says the team’s research adds to the evidence that immigration detention is a harmful practice for children.

The research has been published in Archives of Disease in Childhood and can be accessed here: https://adc.bmj.com/content/108/3/185