BackgroundMigrant children have specific health needs, and may face difficulties in accessing health care, but not enough is known about their health service use. This study aims to describe patterns of use of health services of international migrant children and differences to respective native populations.MethodsElectronic databases PubMed and Web of Science, references of identified publications, and websites of relevant international agencies were searched. We included observational studies published between 2006 and 2016 that reported use of formal health services by migrant children (0–18 years), including first and second generation migrants. Data on study characteristics, study theme, main outcome and study quality were extracted.ResultsOne hundred seven full texts were included in the review. Of the studies that reported comparable outcomes, half (50%) indicated less use of healthcare by migrants compared with non-migrants; 25% reported no difference, 18% reported greater use, and 7% did not report this outcome. There was variation by theme, so that the proportion of conclusions “less use” was most common in the categories “general access to care”, “primary care” and “oral health”, whereas in the use of emergency rooms or hospitalisations, the most common conclusion was “greater use”.ConclusionsMigrant children appear to use different types of healthcare services less than native populations, with the exception of emergency and hospital services.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO systematic review registration number: CRD42016039876.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12992-018-0370-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Esta obra, que nos acerca a experiencias de personas migrantes internacionales y reflexiona sobre políticas e intervenciones en salud, aborda la migración internacional y la salud desde la mirada del sistema de salud, políticas de salud, acceso, uso del sistema y de la figura de facilitadores/mediadores interculturales en salud. Luego, refiere a resultados y experiencias de salud en diversas etapas del ciclo vital, recogiendo evidencia original para Chile, y cierra con abordajes específicos territoriales, de salud mental y de enfermedades infecciosas.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.