Demographic and clinical characteristics of refugees seeking primary healthcare services in Greece in the period 2015–2016: a descriptive study

Background In 2015-2016, more than a million refugees entered Greece. Along with other organizations, PRAKSIS, a local non-governmental organization, deployed mobile medical units on three islands and in temporary settlements in Athens. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study aimed at analysing the demographic and clinical characteristics of the population (n=6688) that received services from PRAKSIS between October 2015 and June 2016 in different locations (islands of Samos, Kos and Leros in the southeastern Aegean Sea and on the mainland at Athens-Piraeus Port Gate E) before and after the closure of European borders in March 2016. Results The majority (88%) of the population came from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Among them, 53% were women and children. Infectious diseases decreased as the population moved from the islands to the Athens-Piraeus Port, while all other disease categories increased in relative frequency, the difference being statistically significant (p