Interventions to increase migrants’ care-seeking behaviour for stigmatised conditions: a scoping review

Abstract

Background Despite availability of effective treatments, migrants in high-income countries seek care for conditions associated with stigma to a lower extent than the rest of the population. We conducted a scoping review to map the literature on interventions to increase migrants’ care-seeking behaviour in high-income countries for stigmatised conditions. Main body of the abstract: We searched 15 electronic databases and journals, hand-searched references and citations, to identify studies on interventions to increase migrants’ care-seeking in high-income countries for stigmatised conditions. We applied language restrictions for English and Swedish, and searched the full time period up to 5 July 2019. Our primary outcome of interest was care utilisation. Results 5447 records were identified in the literature searches. We identified 16 eligible studies, all from North America, that reported interventions to increase migrants’ care-seeking behaviour for hepatitis B (n = 1) and mental health (n = 15). Three approaches were identified: health communication (n = 10), support groups (n = 2), and primary care-based approaches (n = 4). There was a general trend towards community-based interventions tailored to individual migrant groups. Significant gaps were identified in the literature, including studies conducted in Europe and studies including men or children. Furthermore, the choice of study designs introduced significant bias that prevented accurate conclusions on intervention effectiveness. Conclusion The available evidence on interventions to increase migrants’ in high-income countries care-seeking behaviour for stigmatised conditions is limited in scope and quality. Future research, using reliable study designs, is needed to fill the remaining gaps and to boost the scope and reliability of the evidence.

Acute respiratory infections in an adult refugee population: an observational study

“…These findings demonstrate that newly migrated refugees and asylum seekers seek medical help for ARD considerably more often than the nonrefugee German population. This does not necessarily reflect the burden of disease, as care-seeking behavior can be influenced not only by medical factors but also by cultural or social factors 30 , 31 . Care-seeking behavior in refugees is also influenced by the length of stay and whether a refugee is new to a facility—consultation rates were highest in the first week of stay at the refugee camp 19 .…”

What works to support better access to mental health services (from primary care to inpatients) for minority groups to reduce inequalities? A rapid evidence summary

“…• Mapping the interventions to increase migrants' care-seeking behaviour in highincome countries for stigmatised conditions with a primary focus on mental health (Place et al 2021).…”

“We Speak the Same Language, but They Don't Understand Us.” Use and Abuse of Culturalism in Medical Care for Central American Migrants in Transit Through Mexico

“…From the Black Death of 1,346 to the COVID-19 crisis (passing through AIDS, the Influenza AH1N1 pandemic in 2009, and the Ebola epidemic of 2014), migrants are stigmatized as the “ carriers of disease ” ( 5 ). Paradoxically, one of the most vulnerable groups to the disease finds itself responsible for its expansion ( 6 ), and stigma tends to fall most harshly on communities living in a situation of constant mobility ( 7 ). Another clear example is the case of the Spanish Influenza of 1918, during which Spanish immigrants suffered violence and discrimination as they were called the “source” of the virus because they had high rates of contagion, even though the disease occurred during the First World War in a camp in Kansas, USA ( 8 ).…”