Associate professor of medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Director of the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine and an assistant professor of medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Health Hum Rights. 2019 Jun;21(1):215-225.
Due to global events in recent years, applications for political asylum have increased, although the number of people granted asylum in the United States and elsewhere has declined. Physicians and other health care professionals can play a crucial role in the evaluation of individuals seeking asylum, since appropriately documented objective clinical evidence of torture and other forms of persecution can increase the likelihood that survivors of human rights abuses obtain asylum. Many clinicians have the requisite expertise and skills needed to conduct forensic asylum evaluations. However, despite growing interest in this area, the demand for medical and psychiatric forensic evaluations exceeds the number of clinicians who are prepared to conduct asylum evaluations. In an effort to increase the number of qualified clinicians interested and involved in medical and psychiatric evaluations of asylum seekers, this article offers a summary of standard and best practices in the area, including recommended qualifications and competencies relevant to the practice of forensic asylum evaluations, guidance on effective approaches to the medical and psychiatric evaluation of asylum seekers, and recommendations related to medicolegal documentation and testimony. We also highlight gaps in evidence regarding best practices.
近年来，由于全球发生的一些事件，寻求政治庇护的申请有所增加，尽管在美国和其他地方获得庇护的人数有所下降。医生和其他医疗保健专业人员可以在评估寻求庇护的个人方面发挥关键作用，因为恰当地记录酷刑和其他形式的迫害的客观临床证据可以增加侵犯人权行为幸存者获得庇护的可能性。许多临床医生具备进行法医庇护评估所需的专业知识和技能。然而，尽管人们对此领域的兴趣日益浓厚，但对医疗和精神病法医评估的需求超过了准备进行庇护评估的临床医生人数。为了增加有兴趣和参与寻求庇护者的医疗和精神病评估的合格临床医生的数量，本文概述了该领域的标准和最佳实践，包括与法医庇护评估实践相关的推荐资格和能力、对寻求庇护者进行医学和精神病评估的有效方法的指导，以及与法医记录和证词相关的建议。我们还强调了最佳实践方面证据不足的问题。
