Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Int J Equity Health. 2021 Jun 12;20(1):138. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01467-6.
While transnational social ties and exchanges are a core concern within migration studies, health researchers have often overlooked their importance. Continuous and circular exchanges of information within transnational networks, also defined as social remittances, facilitate the diffusion of innovations, potentially driving contemporary social and cultural change. Influences on health, wellbeing, and care-seeking are important, but under-researched, dimensions for consideration. We undertook a systematic narrative evidence synthesis to describe the current state of knowledge in this area and to identify gaps and future directions for health researchers to take. Between April 2017 and May 2019, an iterative series of searches in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and PubMed, plus backward and forward citation searches identified 1173 potential papers. Screening resulted in 36 included papers, eighteen focused on migrant populations and eighteen on those who remain behind. The top three health topics were health-seeking strategies, sexual and reproductive health issues, and healthcare support. And, while not always explicitly identified, mental health and wellbeing was a further prominent, cross-cutting theme. Articles on migrant populations were all conducted in the global North and 13 out of 18 used qualitative methods. Five main themes were identified: therapeutic effect of the continuing social relationships, disrupted social relationships, hybridisation of healthcare, facilitation of connections to healthcare providers, and factors encouraging or undermining transnational social exchanges. Papers concerned with those who remain behind were mainly focused on the global South and used a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Four main themes were identified: transnational transfer of health-related advice, norms, and support; associations between migrant linkages and health behaviours/outcomes; transnational collective transfer of health knowledge; and power and resistance in exchanges. Findings suggest that transnational social exchanges can both support and undermine the health of migrants and those who remain behind. This review confirms that the volume and quality of research in this area must be increased so that health policy and practice can be informed by a better understanding of these important influences on the health of both migrants and those who remain behind.
虽然跨国社会联系和交流是移民研究的核心关注点，但健康研究人员往往忽略了它们的重要性。跨国网络内的信息持续和循环交流，也被定义为社会汇款，促进了创新的传播，可能推动当代社会和文化的变革。对健康、福利和寻求医疗的影响是需要考虑的重要但研究不足的方面。我们进行了系统的叙述性证据综合，以描述该领域的现有知识状况，并确定健康研究人员需要关注的差距和未来方向。在 2017 年 4 月至 2019 年 5 月期间，对 Medline、Embase、PsycINFO 和 PubMed 进行了一系列迭代搜索，并进行了回溯和前向引文搜索，共确定了 1173 篇潜在论文。筛选后纳入 36 篇论文，其中 18 篇聚焦移民人群，18 篇聚焦留守人群。排名前三的健康主题是寻求医疗的策略、性与生殖健康问题和医疗保健支持。而且，尽管并非总是明确确定，但心理健康和福利是另一个突出的跨领域主题。关于移民人群的文章均在北美进行，其中 18 篇采用定性方法。确定了五个主要主题：持续社会关系的治疗效果、社会关系的中断、医疗保健的混合、促进与医疗保健提供者的联系以及鼓励或破坏跨国社会交流的因素。关注留守人群的论文主要集中在南半球，采用了定性和定量方法的混合。确定了四个主要主题：与健康相关的建议、规范和支持的跨国转移；移民联系与健康行为/结果之间的关联；健康知识的跨国集体转移；以及交流中的权力和阻力。研究结果表明，跨国社会交流既能支持又能破坏移民和留守人群的健康。本综述证实，必须增加该领域的研究数量和质量，以便通过更好地了解这些对移民和留守人群健康的重要影响，为卫生政策和实践提供信息。
