Health policies towards refugees’ effective social inclusion? The case of Greece

Over the last decade the number of refugee and immigrant arrivals in Europe, especially in southern European countries such as Greece, has been vastly increased due to war, violence or persecution in the Middle East and North Africa. In this context it is important to note that immigration can bring about changes in factors related to health and welfare. However, the proper management of their health problems in Greece is also affected by the economic crisis, which has contributed to the drastic reduction of public funds, which in combination with other structural issues, has also increased their exclusion from health care. Unquestionably, the welfare state and its subsystems is important in order to promote social inclusion through intercultural cooperation. In the level of health care system this means that, apart from central planning and policy implementation, strengthening the relationship between the native doctor and the immigrant or refugee patients is crucial in order to effectively promote health care. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the construction of appropriate health policies tailored mainly to special cultural needs of immigrants and refugees in order to foster public health as well as social inclusion.