Unaccompanied Children Migrating from Central America: Public Health Implications for Violence Prevention and Intervention

Unaccompanied children (UC) migrating to the USA from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are an underserved population at high risk for health, academic, and social problems. These children experience trauma, violence, and other risk factors that are shared among several types of interpersonal violence. The trauma and violence experienced by many unaccompanied children, and the subsequent implications for their healthy development into adulthood, indicate the critical need for a public health approach to prevention and intervention. This paper provides an overview of the violence experienced by unaccompanied children along their migration journey, the implications of violence and trauma for the health and well-being of the children across their lifespan, prevention and intervention approaches for UC resettled in the USA, and suggestions for adapted interventions to best address the unique needs of this vulnerable population.