ADL evne hos asyl ansøgere i Danmark: Et tværsnitsstudie: A cross-sectional study

Objective: The aim of this study was to
evaluate the extent of Activities of Daily
Living (ADL) ability impairment in newly
arrived Danish asylum seekers. It was
hypothesized that exposure to trauma and
torture would negatively influence ADL
performance and that measures of ADL
ability would be lower in individuals exposed
to torture as compared to the non-tortured.
Subjects: Forty-three newly arrived asylum
seekers aged 20-50 years, from Iran, Afghanistan
and Syria, were consecutively included
in the study.
Method: ADL ability was assessed with the
observation–based test Assessment of Motor
and Process Skills (AMPS). Interviews were
based on questionnaires about torture
exposure, WHO-5 Wellbeing Index, Major
Depression Inventory and Pain Detect
Questionnaire. All participants were interviewed
and tested using a linguistic interpreter.Results: Thirty three (77%) participants
reported exposure to torture. The tortured
did not differ significantly from the nontortured
on measures of ADL ability
(two-sample t-tests: Motor, p= 0.36; Process,
p= 0.82). ADL performance impairment was
observed in the overall study sample. Twelve
had motor and 15 process ability measures
below age norms and 2 below both AMPS
motor and process cut-offs for effortless and
efficient ADL performance. There were
statistically significant - weak to moderate
- correlations between self-reported psychological
distress, VAS average pain, pain
distribution and the AMPS measures.
Conclusion: The study results supported
significant ADL ability impairment in
tortured as well as non-tortured newly
arrived asylum seekers. Implementation of
performance-based evaluation of ADL ability
as part of the initial medical screening of this
particular population should be considered.