Understanding the health needs of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASCs) living in the UK using routinely collected linked administrative data

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs) are among the most vulnerable groups in the UK. The number of UASCs is increasing, with the latest figures indicating that in 2023, 7,200 UASCs were residing in the UK under Local Authority Care. These children endure significant hardships in their home countries, fleeing war and violence and undertaking perilous journeys to the UK. Upon arrival, they often face ongoing instability and uncertainty regarding housing and legal status, as well as limited psychological, social and economic support from Local Authority Care. Despite these challenges, UASCs exhibit considerable resilience and a strong desire to integrate into UK society to secure a more stable future. However, there is a scarcity of UK-based studies that monitor and explore the health, educational, and social needs of these children, as well as their outcomes in life.

This project aims to understand the differential effects on the health and overall well-being of UASCs of different social care provisions, such as type of accommodation and type of support provided, and how they might intersect with potential factors of vulnerability, such as age and gender. Given that the livelihoods of UASCs are framed within an ongoing, highly politicised discourse, a policy analysis will be conducted to understand how standards of care might have evolved over the years in accordance with policy decisions. I will use the ECHILD dataset, which gathers routinely collected administrative data from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and the National Pupil Database (NPD), to address the following research questions:

1. To describe the health and psycho-social needs of UASCs living in the UK, and how they might differ from other children looked after and children that are not looked after.
2. To describe the current support provisions for UASCs, and how they might have evolved and changed in the past decade.
3. To evaluate whether such provisions are sufficient to address the needs of UASCs, where they might fall short, and to propose potential solutions for policymakers.

To gain deeper insight into the policy landscape, I also plan to conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups with policymakers and service providers.