This project ties in with the new Swiss asylum policy and its Integration Agenda which has been in place since 2019. Following its basic idea refugees with a high probability f remaining in the country are distributed in a short time from the federal asylum centres (concentrated on Dublin procedures) to cantonal integration centres where social and labour market integration measures - the two pillars of the Swiss integration policy - are supposed to be initiated immediately. This paradigm shift from a shortening of asylum policy to an early integration policy structured and supported by social work professionals sounds convincing in theory. In practice, it turns out to be an enormous challenge. This situation motivates our project and examines socio-spatial and health-related determinants of refugees’ social integration in Switzerland. 

The state of international research on the health and well-being of refugees indicates that social integration encounters structural barriers as well as pre-, trans-, and post-migration stressors. But for Switzerland there is no empirically based knowledge on this matter, which is why the project addresses a research gap crucial for a realistic assessment of the achievement of the Swiss Integration Agenda and, consequently, the legal status of refugees. The project further strengthens the position of professional social work, as diverse intervention strategies can be derived from our research that acknowledges the health-related heterogeneity of refugees as a key determinant of their integration.

Accordingly, the project poses the following research questions:

1. What potential unfolds from the health and well-being status of a refugee for social integration?
2. What potential unfolds from the social space for social integration, taking into account refugees’ health and wellbeing?
3. What professional roles and method sets should social work develop when working with refugees who perceive the spatial environment as promoting their integration, but at the same time the integration centre as a shelter and health rehabilitation?
4. What are the implications of the analyses for a change in practice?

These questions will be investigated and using a mixed-method approach. In particular, it intends to (1) qualitatively explore the interplay between health, well-being and socio-spatial orientation with a particular focus on social integration of refugees (interviews, focus groups), (2) quantitatively determine the impact of health and well-being and socio-spatial orientation on social integration of refugees in Cantone Aargau, Geneva and Ticino (three language regions, 60-70 cantonal asylum centres with 13’000 refugees, N=800), and (3) integrate the empirical results and relevant ethical and policy aspects within a final interpretative part, that, ultimately, will allow to formulate recommendations for a refined and needs-oriented social work approach as well as for a coherent policy in the field of social integration.

The research team will be supported by three expert groups with different knowledge stocks (life world knowledge, professional knowledge and scientific knowledge).