Asylum seekers’ health and use of health services in Norway.

Abstract

Many asylum seekers arrived in Norway during autumn 2015, and there has been a call for more knowledge regarding the health of this group. The aim of this exploratory literature review was to investigate the state of knowledge about asylum seekers' health and use of healthcare services in Norway. We conducted two literature searches for the periods 2007-2017 and 2017-2019 in 12 databases using the keywords 'refugees' and related terms, with a filter for research undertaken in or about Norway and published in Norwegian or English. The title and summary were read first, after which relevant articles were read in full text. Publications concerning asylum seekers in Norway and related to health and/or use of health services were included. A total of 28publications met the criteria for inclusion: 22peer-reviewed articles and six reports. The most common topics were mental health and infectious diseases. Other topics that the studies dealt with were nutrition, functional impairment and healthcare services. Little research has been undertaken on asylum seekers' health and use of healthcare services. Research on asylum seekers' health in Norway primarily concerns mental health and infectious diseases, and there is little research on other somatic disorders.