Key Dimensions for the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases in Institutional Settings: A Scoping Review to Guide the Development of a Tool to Strengthen Preparedness at Migrant Holding Centres in the EU/EEA

Abstract

Migrant centres, as other institutions hosting closed or semi-open communities, may face specific challenges in preventing and controlling communicable disease transmission, particularly during times of large sudden influx. However, there is dearth of evidence on how to prioritise investments in aspects such as human resources, medicines and vaccines, sanitation and disinfection, and physical infrastructures to prevent/control communicable disease outbreaks. We analysed frequent drivers of communicable disease transmission/issues for outbreak management in institutions hosting closed or semi-open communities, including migrant centres, and reviewed existing assessment tools to guide the development of a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) checklist tool to strengthen preparedness against communicable disease outbreaks in migrant centres. Among articles/reports focusing specifically on migrant centres, outbreaks through multiple types of disease transmission were described as possible/occurred. Human resources and physical infrastructure were the dimensions most frequently identified as crucial for preventing and mitigating outbreaks. This review also recognised a lack of common agreed standards to guide and assess preparedness activities in migrant centres, thereby underscoring the need for a capacity-oriented ECDC preparedness checklist tool.

Increasing childhood vaccination coverage of the refugee and migrant population in Greece through the European programme PHILOS, April 2017 to April 2018

“…PHILOS and NGO personnel had to deal with an insufficient number of cultural mediators on site, a well-documented challenge in such settings [6,7]. Additionally, the camps’ populations were constantly changing, with people moving from one camp to another or to community shelters.…”

Biological Risk in Italian Prisons: From the COVID-19 Management to the Development of a Standardized Model for Emergency Response

“…One specific concern that has peculiar health, safety, security, and legal implications is that of biological outbreaks in confined environments like prison facilities [ 26 ], critical infrastructure and strategic sites for public security, as the COVID-19 pandemic showed. Like residential care homes or cruise ships, prisons are enclosed environments with narrow spaces where close contact between people seems unavoidable [ 27 ], and where communicable diseases could lead to extremely severe consequences [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Despite these similarities, during the first wave of the pandemic (winter-summer 2020) infectious rates in Italian prisons were lower than in nursing homes where mortality was documented at around 3% (“test confirmed” data was 0.7%), with large differences among Italian regions [ 31 ].…”

Exploring Public Preferences, Priorities, and Policy Perspectives for Controlling Invasive Mosquito Species in Greece

“…It should be noted that the pattern and extent of incidence of particular infectious diseases depends, among others, on land-use change, disease-specific transmission dynamics, socio-cultural changes [29,30,31], climate change, and the susceptibility of human populations [32,33]. Based on this fact, it would be rational to explore a synthesis of policies and decisions by including all relevant social groups in the decision-making process.…”