Han Lei, Jeong Seunghui, Kim Seongwon, Eom Yunjeong, Jung Minye
Department of Occupational Therapy, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea.
Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Software and Digital Healthcare Convergence, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Jul 29;22(8):1187. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22081187.
International migration is a growing global phenomenon involving diverse groups, such as labor migrants, international marriage migrants, refugees, and international students. International migrants face unique mental health challenges influenced by adversities such as social isolation and limited access to mental health services. This study employs bibliometric methods to systematically analyze the global body of literature on international migrants' mental health.
The literature on the mental health of international migrants published until October 2024 was searched using the Web of Science database. The search terms included ('International migrants' OR 'migrant workers' OR 'international students' OR 'refugees' OR 'asylum seekers' OR 'smuggled migrants') AND 'mental health'. VOSviewer was used to conduct bibliometric analysis, focusing on co-authorship patterns, keyword co-occurrence, and citation networks.
Over the past four decades, research on the mental health of international migrants has grown substantially, with major migration destinations such as the United States, Europe, and Australia playing prominent roles in this field. 'Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)' was the most frequent keyword in publications, with strong links to 'trauma' and 'depression'. In recent years, with the impact of global socioenvironmental changes and emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the research focus has gradually shifted towards social support, service accessibility, and cultural adaptation.
International migration is a far-reaching global phenomenon, and addressing the mental health of migrant populations is essential for advancing public health, social cohesion, and sustainable development. This study provides the first bibliometric overview of research in this domain, mapping its thematic evolution and collaborative structure. The findings offer valuable insights into the field's development and may support future interdisciplinary collaboration and the formulation of culturally informed, evidence-based approaches in migrant mental health.
国际移民是一种日益普遍的全球现象，涉及不同群体，如劳务移民、跨国婚姻移民、难民和国际学生。国际移民面临着独特的心理健康挑战，这些挑战受到社会隔离和心理健康服务获取受限等逆境的影响。本研究采用文献计量方法，系统分析关于国际移民心理健康的全球文献。
使用科学网数据库搜索截至2024年10月发表的关于国际移民心理健康的文献。搜索词包括（“国际移民”或“移民工人”或“国际学生”或“难民”或“寻求庇护者”或“偷运移民”）以及“心理健康”。使用VOSviewer进行文献计量分析，重点关注共同作者模式、关键词共现和引文网络。
在过去四十年中，关于国际移民心理健康的研究大幅增长，美国、欧洲和澳大利亚等主要移民目的地在该领域发挥了突出作用。“创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）”是出版物中最常见的关键词，与“创伤”和“抑郁”有很强的联系。近年来，随着全球社会环境变化和COVID-19大流行等紧急情况的影响，研究重点逐渐转向社会支持、服务可及性和文化适应。
国际移民是一个影响深远的全球现象，解决移民群体的心理健康问题对于促进公共卫生、社会凝聚力和可持续发展至关重要。本研究首次提供了该领域研究的文献计量概述，描绘了其主题演变和合作结构。研究结果为该领域的发展提供了有价值的见解，并可能支持未来的跨学科合作以及制定具有文化针对性、基于证据的移民心理健康方法。
