European Journal of Public Health - Abstract 252 - (psycho)social and community workers supporting transnational refugee families

Sep 30, 2026

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The abstract examines how tightening migration and family-reunification policies in Global North countries prolong family separations for transnational refugee families. Drawing on doctoral research, it studies lived experiences of separation and reunification in Quebec, Canada, and identifies how (psycho)social and community interventions shape those experiences across the process. A feminist family storytelling methodology compares 15 family members with 16 supporting workers, organizing insights into key experiential dimensions and intervention roles.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Aims

Methods/approach

Results

Conclusions

vi48 European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 35, Supplement 6, 2025 Abstract citation ID: ckaf180.131 252 “It’s not really in our job description, but our humanity will haunt us if we don’t do it” : (psycho)social and community workers supporting transnational refugee families undergoing family reunification process Myriam Richard1 1Enap, Montreal, Canada OP 17: Refugees and Asylum Seekers 1, B210 (FCSH), September 4, 2025, 13:30-14:30 Aims: The growing number of forcibly displaced individuals, coupled with the tightening of migration policies restricting humanitarian and family migration in Global North countries, prolongs family separations and imposes additional barriers to reunification. This presentation highlights the results of a doctoral research that aimed at studying the experiences of separation and reunification of transnational refugee families to Quebec (Canada) in order to identify how (psycho)social and community intervention can help improve these experiences. Methods/approach: Employing a feminist family storytelling methodology, this research juxtaposes the lived experiences of 15 transnational refugee family members undergoing family reunification, with the experiences of 16 (psycho)social and community workers supporting them at various?stages of the reunification process. It develops a critical transnational analytical framework composed of four main dimensions?of transnational refugee families’ experiences of separation and reunification: 1) intimacy and everyday life; 2) bureaucracy; 3) structural issues; 4) (psycho)social and community intervention. Results: The findings reveal a comprehensive range of (psycho)social and community interventions employed throughout various stages of the family reunification process. Moreover, the analysis indicates that the intervention space serves dual functions: firstly, a locus that mirrors the inherent complexity and rigidity of thereunification process; secondly, a strategic tool utilized by both families and practitioners to navigate and counteract bureaucratic and systemic challenges that impede refugees’ rights to family life. Conclusions: Individual-level interventions within the national borders of country of family reunification are critical for supporting transnational refugee families. However, the complexity of the bureaucratic, structural, and intimate and everyday challenges they face makes individual-level interventions insufficient. Improved organisational conditions are required for practitioners to carry out family level interventions involving family members within and beyond national borders.?They are also essential to sustain effective advocacy initiatives for the protection of transnational refugee families’right to family life.

FAQs

What problem does the presentation focus on?

It focuses on how restrictive migration policies extend family separations and create additional barriers to family reunification for transnational refugee families.

How was the doctoral research conducted?

It uses a feminist family storytelling methodology, juxtaposing experiences of 15 refugee family members with those of 16 (psycho)social and community workers across multiple stages of the reunification process.

What do the results show about interventions during reunification?

They show a broad range of (psycho)social and community interventions used throughout the process, and that the intervention space functions both as a mirror of complexity/rigidity and as a strategic tool to navigate systemic bureaucratic challenges.

What is the main conclusion about what interventions are needed?

Individual-level interventions within the reunification country are necessary but not sufficient; improved organizational conditions are required to enable family-level interventions across and beyond national borders and to support advocacy for the right to family life.

Sep 30, 2026

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