title: Access to health for refugees in Greece: lessons in inequalities.
abstract: Eastern Greek islands have been direct passageways of (mainly Syrian) refugees to the European continent over the past year. However, basic medical care has been insufficient. Despite calls for reform, the Greek healthcare system has for many years been costly and dysfunctional, lacking universal equity of access. Thus, mainly volunteers look after the refugee camps in the Greek islands under adverse conditions. Communicable diseases, trauma related injuries and mental health problems are the most common issues facing the refugees. The rapid changes in the epidemiology of multiple conditions that are seen in countries with high immigration rates, like Greece, demand pragmatic solutions. Best available knowledge should be used in delivering health interventions. So far, Greece is failed by international aid, and cross-border policies have not effectively tackled underlying reasons for ill-health in this context, like poverty, conflict and equity of access.
authors.affiliation: Society of Junior Doctors, Athens, Greece. antonis.kousoulis@lshtm.ac.uk.|Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 10 Norwood Avenue, London, HA0 1LY, UK. antonis.kousoulis@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Antonis A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kousoulis
authors.affiliation: Society of Junior Doctors, Athens, Greece.|Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Myrsini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ioakeim-Ioannidou
authors.affiliation: Society of Junior Doctors, Athens, Greece.|Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Konstantinos P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Economopoulos
mesh_terms: D003141:Communicable Diseases; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D006115:Greece; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Access; Conflict; Greece; Inequality; Migrants; Refugee; Syria