Voices and visibility: the inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers in decision-making processes

In 2022, we worked with Dr Sacha Hasan to explore:

1. Connections (if any) between mental health and participating in decision-making structures and civic forums
2. Barriers for refugee and asylum seekers in taking part in civic forums and decision-making processes

Dr Sacha Hasan used the above research questions to develop research tools to take to the refugee and asylum-seeking communities in Glasgow and also to the people who are on civic forums and decision-making structures. What made this research unique was the participatory and action-based peer research approach: people with lived experience of being asylum seekers were trained to be part of the research team, and this method worked exceptionally well.

The paper includes recommendations and action points based on findings from the initial focus groups and interviews with the research participants.

Through collaboration with Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), we provide training to refugee and asylum-seeking community members to ensure they know where to go if they have health concerns. We also work with the HSCP to support refugee and asylum-seeking community members to join Locality Engagement Forum meetings. This is where they can connect with other people in their local area and share their experiences and opinions of healthcare services.

We also ensure refugee and asylum seeker voices are included in discussions when stakeholders working across education or health and social care run consultations to gather feedback on their services. Through facilitated focus groups, we have created spaces for refugees to share their experiences and views on a range of issues, so they can help shape policy and services. These focus groups have been run in collaboration with the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, COSLA and Strathclyde University.

We ensure people from refugee backgrounds understand the structure of decision-making in Scotland and how they can participate by offering training, which is often delivered in collaboration with staff from relevant companies and organisations. We also offer training to those working with refugees and asylum seekers in health and education to ensure that they understand the needs and experiences of the community.

This research also informs our work on our Elevate programme, which works across transport, health and social care, education and policing across Scotland.