Digital maternal health booklets – do they help reaching migrant populations

Abstract

Abstract Background Societies and health systems are increasingly digitally transformed. Digital communication is considered a means to reach persons in vulnerable contexts, such as migrant families. We performed a scoping literature review to evaluate the assumption in the context of maternal and child health (MCH) and validate results qualitatively. Methods Jan. 2020 a literature search was conducted (Web of Science, MEDLINE, CINAHL) using synonyms for migrants, health, digital media and information seeking, limited to publications in English. Two researchers independently rated titles and then abstracts for suitability, obtaining consensus at each step. Primary target group, health topic and related life phase, country of data origin, and primary study question were extracted from remaining manuscripts. Data on digital health information seeking (impact, reasons, barriers, context) will be extracted from full texts and discussed. A focus group with mothers with migrant background in Switzerland will be held in Sept. to validate findings. Results After title and abstract screening 41 from 315 articles remained. 25 articles focused primarily on migrant populations and information seeking behavior. Dominant populations were Latinos, Hispanics and Asians. Studies were performed in North America (n = 32), Europe, Asia and Australia (each n = 3); seven were on MCH, four on child and adolescent and 30 on adult health (mainly general health and health access). Further results extracted from manuscripts and focus group validation results will be presented at the conference. Conclusions Few studies on health information seeking behavior of migrants and MCH exist. Evidence on digital information seeking overall is scarce. The many North American studies indicate an advanced digital transformation of health promotion and care. The discussion will focus on the generalizability of literature findings and potential of digital health promotion via MCH in vulnerable populations.