Migration Health Research Bulletin, Issue No. 28

This issue of the Bulletin features publications focusing on migration data, migration health research priorities, and infectious diseases including tuberculosis and COVID-19.

The audio podcast episode centers on the key findings from an IOM study, conducted in collaboration with FIND and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of three commercially available computer-aided detection systems for detecting tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis-related knowledge, practices, perceived stigma and discrimination among patients with tuberculosis: a cross-sectional study in Jordan

Background
Tuberculosis knowledge, practices, and perceived stigma and discrimination among patients with tuberculosis are key factors for the management of the disease.

Objectives
The objectives of the study were to assess knowledge, practices, perceived stigma and discrimination, perceived family and health workers support, perceived level of satisfaction with healthcare services, delay in diagnosis/treatment and reasons for delay among patients with tuberculosis in Jordan.

Migrants’ Right to Health – Legal and Policy Instruments Related to Migrants’ Access to Health Care, Social Protection and Labour in Selected East African Countries

The Eastern and Horn of Africa region remains one of the most dynamic regions of the world in terms of migration caused by an evolving complex of economic, social, and security interplay. Migrants and mobile populations continue to face many obstacles in accessing essential healthcare services including migration status, language barriers, lack of migrant-inclusive healthcare laws and policies, inaccessibility of services, and the inability of the receiving country to afford addressing their welfare.

Tracking migration and health inequities

Over 281 million people around the world are counted as international migrants. Many migrants are forcibly displaced – with 36.4 million refugees and 6.1 million asylum-seekers by mid-2023. Furthermore, there were 62.5 million internally displaced people at the end of 2022. While many of these migrants are healthy, many, in particular refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people, are at risk of poor health outcomes and often experience health-related inequities, facing little or no access to health care.

Climate Change Impacts on Health affecting Development and Human Mobility

IOM, as the UN Migration Agency, has an imperative to act on the triple nexus of health, climate change, and mobility: Its Institutional Strategy on Migration, Environment and Climate Change 2021–2030 outlines a comprehensive, evidence and rights-based approach to migration in the context of environmental degradation, climate change and disasters, for the benefit of migrants and societies.

Migration Health Research Bulletin, Issue No. 27

The issue of the Bulletin features publications on migration, zoonoses, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, mental health, among others.

The audio podcast episode discusses the importance of the inclusion of migrants into policies and actions towards zoonotic disease prevention and control as well as outlines guidance on the integration of migration into health interventions.

Bridging the gap: Using CHNRI to align migration health research priorities in India with local expertise and global perspectives

Background: Migration and health are increasingly recognised as a global public health priority, but concerns have been raised on the skewed nature of current research and the potential disconnect between health needs and policy and governance responses. The Migration Health South Asia (MiHSA) network led the first systematic research priority-setting exercise for India, aligned with the global call to develop a clearly defined migration health research agenda that will inform research investments and guide migrant-responsive policies by the year 2030.

Defining indicators for disease burden, clinical outcomes, policies, and barriers to health services for migrant populations in the Middle East and North African region: a suite of systematic reviews

Introduction: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is characterised by high and complex migration flows, yet little is known about the health of migrant populations, their levels of under-immunisation, and access to healthcare provision. Data are needed to support regional elimination and control targets for key diseases and the design and delivery of programmes to improve health outcomes in these groups.

Integration of migrant and refugee data in health information systems in Europe: advancing evidence, policy and practice

Coverage of migrant and refugee data is incomplete and of insufficient quality in European health information systems. This is not because we lack the knowledge or technology. Rather, it is due to various political factors at local, national and European levels, which hinder the implementation of existing knowledge and guidelines. This reflects the low political priority given to the topic, and also complex governance challenges associated with migration and displacement.

Mental Health of Refugees and Migrants: Risk and protective factors and access to care

This is the fifth report of the Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series. The publication focuses on the mental health needs of refugees and migrants by providing an overview of the available evidence on patterns of risk and protective factors and of facilitators and barriers to care at all levels (individual, family, community and national government).