Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health (UBEP), Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Centre for Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health (C-BEPH), Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Orbassano, Italy.
Global Health. 2024 Sep 27;20(1):69. doi: 10.1186/s12992-024-01075-3.
Numerous studies have explored the impact of pre- and post-migration factors on the overall health of migrant populations. The objective of this study is to enhance our understanding of additional determinants affecting migrants' health by examining the impact of the migration phase and related journeys in the European context.
We conducted a systematic review of studies published in the MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus databases from 2003 up to January 5, 2024. We included observational studies reporting information on the health status of migrant populations recorded upon arrival in a country situated in Europe, and on the transit phase, including specific risk factors experienced during the journey or its characteristics. Title and abstract screening were performed using active learning techniques provided by ASReview software. The results of the included studies were presented qualitatively, with a focus on publications that formally assessed the association between the journey and the investigated health outcomes. The systematic review was registered on PROSPERO, CRD42024513421.
Out of 11,370 records screened, we ultimately included 25 studies, all conducted since 2017. Most adopted a cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach, with relatively small sample sizes. The majority of the studies were conducted in Serbia and Italy. Only 14 of them formally assessed the association between different exposures in the transit phase and health outcomes, including mental health, well-being and quality of life, infectious and non-communicable diseases.
Epidemiological research focusing on the transit phase in Europe remains limited, with few available studies facing challenges related to data collection, study design and analysis, thereby limiting the interpretability and generalisability of their results. These findings underscore the need for action, prompting the development of adequate and feasible strategies to conduct additional studies focusing on migrant populations during migration journeys.
许多研究探讨了移民前和移民后因素对移民人口整体健康的影响。本研究的目的是通过在欧洲背景下研究移民阶段和相关旅程的影响，来增进我们对影响移民健康的其他决定因素的理解。
我们对 2003 年至 2024 年 1 月 5 日期间在 MEDLINE、Embase 和 Scopus 数据库中发表的研究进行了系统回顾。我们纳入了报告在欧洲国家入境时移民人口健康状况以及过境阶段（包括在旅程中经历的特定风险因素或其特征）相关信息的观察性研究。使用 ASReview 软件提供的主动学习技术进行标题和摘要筛选。纳入研究的结果以定性方式呈现，重点关注正式评估旅程与所研究健康结果之间关联的出版物。系统评价在 PROSPERO 上注册，CRD42024513421。
在筛选出的 11370 条记录中，我们最终纳入了 25 项研究，均于 2017 年以后开展。大多数研究采用了横断面设计和定量方法，样本量相对较小。大多数研究在塞尔维亚和意大利开展。只有 14 项研究正式评估了过境阶段的不同暴露与心理健康、幸福感和生活质量、传染病和非传染性疾病等健康结果之间的关联。
欧洲专注于过境阶段的流行病学研究仍然有限，可用的研究很少，这些研究面临数据收集、研究设计和分析方面的挑战，从而限制了其结果的可解释性和普遍性。这些发现强调需要采取行动，促使制定适当和可行的战略，以便在移民旅程中针对移民人口开展更多的研究。
