Poorer self-perceived health among migrants and ethnic minorities versus the majority population in Europe: a systematic review

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Objectives

Knowledge about self-perceived health can help us understand the health status and needs among migrants and ethnic minorities in the European Union (EU) which is essential to improve equity and integration. The objective was to examine and compare self-perceived health among migrant and ethnic minority groups in the EU-countries.

 

Methods

Publications were ascertained by a systematic search of PUBMED and EMBASE. Eligibility of studies was based on the abstracts and the full texts. Additional articles were identified via the references. The final number of studies included was 17.

 

Results

Publications were identified in 5 out of the 27 EU-countries. In all aspects of self-perceived health, most migrants and ethnic minority groups appeared to be disadvantaged as compared to the majority population even after controlling for age, gender, and socioeconomic factors. Only limited cross-country comparisons could be carried out, still, they revealed a parallel pattern of self-perceived health among similar migrants/ethnic minority groups.

 

Conclusions

Policies to improve social and health status, contextual factors, and access to healthcare among migrants and ethnic minorities are essential to reduce ethnic inequalities in health.

 

Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Public Health (Print Edition)
Pages (from-to)357-71
Number of pages15
ISSN1661-8556
Publication statusPublished - 2010

ID: 19664992