Call: Migrants’ health: Best practices in care provision for vulnerable migrants and refugees

The EU is required by its founding treaty to ensure that human health is protected as part of all its policies, and to work with the EU countries to improve public health, prevent human illness and eliminate sources of danger to physical and mental health. The 3rd Health Programme has 4 overarching objectives:

1. Promote health, prevent diseases and foster supportive environments for healthy lifestyles taking into account the 'health in all policies' principle,
2. Protect Union citizens from serious cross-border health threats,
3. Contribute to innovative, efficient and sustainable health systems,
4. Facilitate access to better and safer healthcare for Union citizens.

This action aims to support activities in view of the development of community-based care models to improve health care access of vulnerable migrants and refugees. Through facilitating the transition from institutional to community-based care and integrated services, it aims to identify innovative ways of reducing inequalities in access to health services, and promote social inclusion through supporting access to social, community/home-care, cultural or recreational services. Community-based health clinics (hubs) offer an opportunity to create health-promoting places. These care models can also support reorientation of specialists to general practitioners, to strengthen healthcare in primary care settings. This action will deal with compiled best practices in care provision for vulnerable migrants and refugees (including pregnant women, children and older persons), with a focus on psycho-social aspects, acute and chronic diseases, including communicable diseases.

The activities to be carried out may cover:

1. review existing evidence and carry out a survey to collect information on the physical and mental health status of vulnerable migrants, including the related health and social service needs, with a view to provide evidence base for integrated, holistic and community based care approaches. Specific needs of vulnerable sub-groups should also be explored;
2. review existing approaches and identify best practices and tools of community-based health care models across the EU and beyond, serving vulnerable migrants. Special attention should be paid to the effectiveness of these models in terms of health (physical and psychological) promotion, communicable and chronic diseases prevention and care. Approaches relevant for the most vulnerable sub-groups (e.g., children, pregnant women and older persons) should also be explored, including integrated services for families;
3. map the legal, organizational and institutional environment across the EU, access existing capacity and feasibility of introducing integrated, community-based approaches;
4. pilot test and evaluate comparative models for the provision of health care for vulnerable migrants across a selection of EU Member States, including the economic analysis of comparative practices; and
5. create a competence network on mental health –specially post-traumatic stress- of migrants and refugees, involving experts from Member States, in close collaboration with health ministries, non-governmental and health professionals’ organisations, and vulnerable migrants, with the aim of developing materials and recommendations on mental health care and medical documentation in intercultural refugee populations; organize training of health and social professionals to detect mental disorders and provide first psychological aid in refugees; and to identify efficient pathways for longer-term care programmes that could include social activities and peer support in refugee populations to prevent the onset of mental disorders; identifying ways to advise refugees on access to mental health care.

Grant applications are eligible if submitted by legal persons. More specifically, the applicants must be legally established organisations, public authorities, public sector bodies, in particular research and health institutions, universities and higher education establishments. The application shall state the legal status of the applicant. Applicants participating in a project proposal have to be different legal entities (i.e. independent from each other) from at least 3 countries participating in the Health Programme. Proposals which involve fewer applicants will be rejected.

Applicants participating in a project proposal have to be different legal entities (i.e. independent from each other) from at least 3 countries participating in the Health Programme. Proposals which involve fewer applicants will be rejected.

1. Find the call on the participant portal:
   • https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/index.html
2. Create an account to submit a proposal:
   • http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/organisations/register.html
3. Register all partners via the beneficiary registry:
   • http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/organisations/register.html