Publications Search
This publications portal is a repository of all IOM migration health publications from 2006 to present where IOM was a primary contributor.
Publications include peer-reviewed scientific papers, technical reports, training guides/manuals, policy briefs/discussion papers, factsheets, newsletters, research reviews, conference and poster presentations. These are categorized by topic, author, country/region covered as well as by year, language, and type of publication. The map reflects the countries covered by the publications.
To browse or search: simply use the filter options on the left-hand side. Alternatively, you can enter keyword/s in the search box. Selecting a specific publication will lead to a ‘download’ link or link to the website where the document is housed. Here is the step-by-step guide for your reference.

‘It is a disease which comes and kills directly’: What refugees know about COVID-19 and key influences of compliance with preventive measures
Author/s: Adelaide M. Lusambili, Michela Martini, Faiza Abdirahaman, Asante Abena, Joseph N. Guni, Sharon Ochieng, Stanley Luchters
Abstract
Background
Refugees are at increased risk for COVID-19 infection in part due to their living conditions, which make it harder to adopt and adhere to widely accepted preventive measures. Little empirical evidence exists about what refugees know about COVID-19 and what they do to prevent infection. This study explored what refugee women and their health care workers understand about COVID-19 prevention, the extent of their compliance to public health…

Migration Health 2020 Impact Overview
Author/s: IOM
This report is an annual overview of activities led and implemented by the Migration Health Division of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2020, in partnership with Member States, United Nations agencies and other partners in the international community, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, meet the operational challenges and advance understanding of migration health, encourage socioeconomic development through migration, and work towards ensuring respect of the human…
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Health and Illness in Newly Arrived Migrants and Refugees Arriving at Europe's Shores: Analysis of the Electronic Personal Health Record System in Seven Countries
Author/s: Dominik Zenner, Ana Requena-Méndez, Steffen Schillinger, Elena Val, Kolitha Wickramage
Background: The electronic Personal Health (ePHR) Record is a health information system for newly arriving migrants that has been implemented in seven European countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Serbia and Slovenia). This is a cross-sectional study of all migrants who attended as part of the health assessment programme established in the reception centres between 2016 and 2019 that provides a comprehensive overview of illness and health in the migrant cohort.…
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Migration Health Research Bulletin, Issue No. 19
Author/s: IOM
This issue of the Bulletin features peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, reports, and commentaries focusing on some of IOM’s migration health programmes such as mental health and psychosocial support, vaccination, tuberculosis screening, and public health emergency management.
Two interviews are included in the current episode of the audio podcast: one on the vaccination programme for US-bound refugees globally and the other on migration health governance in Africa.

Prevalence of Malaria Parasite Infections among U.S.-Bound Congolese Refugees with and without Splenomegaly
Author/s: Moses Mwesigwa, Jessica L. Webster, Sam Lubwama Nsobya, Alexander Rowan, Mukunda Singh Basnet, Christina R. Phares, Michelle Weinberg, Alexander Klosovsky, Marwan Naoum, Philip J. Rosenthal, William Stauffer
Abstract
All U.S.-bound refugees from sub-Saharan Africa receive presumptive antimalarial treatment before departing for the United States. Among U.S.-bound Congolese refugees, breakthrough malaria cases and persistent splenomegaly have been reported. In response, an enhanced malaria diagnostic program was instituted. Here, we report the prevalence of plasmodial infection among 803 U.S.-bound Congolese refugees who received enhanced diagnostics. Infections by either rapid…
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“We have a lot of home deliveries” A qualitative study on the impact of COVID-19 on access to and utilization of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health care among refugee women in urban Eastleigh, Kenya
Author/s: Adelaide M Lusambili, Michela Martini, Faiza Abdirahman, Abena Asante, Sharon Ochieng, Joseph N Guni, Rose Maina, Stanley Luchters
Background
Little is known about how pregnant refugee women, and the frontline health care workers who serve them, are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of health, and health service access. Women refugees are classified as a vulnerable group with regard to pregnancy outcomes and access to maternal care and may be disproportionally at risk for COVID-19 infection as they are likely to face unique barriers to information and access to reproductive health services during…

Mainstreaming the Health of Migrants in the Implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian)
Author/s: IOM
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) features health as a cross-cutting priority with references to health and healthcare access in several objectives. Together with the SDGs, the World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolutions on the health of migrants (WHA 61.17, 2008) and on promoting the health of refugees and migrants (WHA 70.15, 2017) and the forthcoming WHO Global Action Plan on promoting the health of refugees and migrants (2019), implementation and review of the…
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Emergency Health – 2019 Global Highlights (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian)
Author/s: IOM
IOM assists crisis-affected populations, governments, and host communities to strengthen and re-establish primary health-care systems. As a formal partner of the World Health Organization (WHO), and as a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of the InterAgency Standing Committee (IASC) Global Health Cluster, and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), IOM is a key player in responding to humanitarian and public health emergencies, as well as supporting health system recovery…
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Migration Health Research Bulletin, Issue No. 18
Author/s: IOM
The Bulletin features recent publications stemming from IOM’s health-related programming globally – for instance, the migration health assessment programme and the mental health and psychosocial support program (MHPSS). Further, this issue showcases a number of publications and forums pertaining to COVID-19 at the nexus of research, health policy, and public health practice.
The audio podcast episode features an interview with IOM’s Dr. Olga Gorbacheva on the importance of following…
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An immunization program for US-bound refugees: Development, challenges, and opportunities 2012–present
Author/s: Tarissa Mitchell, Warren Dalal, Alexander Klosovsky, Catherine Yen, Christina Phares, Margaret Burkhardt, Farah Amin, Ivan Froes, Amira Hamadeh, Sai Aung Lynn, Judith Quintanilla, Annelise Casano Doney, Martin Cetron, Michelle Weinberg
Background
US-bound refugees undergo required health assessments overseas to identify and treat communicable diseases of public health significance—such as pulmonary tuberculosis—before migration. Immunizations are not required, leaving refugees at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases. In response, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of State developed and co-funded a global immunization program for US-bound refugees, implemented in 2012 in…