Refugee-migration crisis in Europe and public health

Abstract

Given the fact that migration is increasingly becoming part of the lives of European citizens and there is an unprecedented flow of refugees and migrants to Europe, the impact of migration on public health and the health of migrants and refugees, must be recognized as an important issue for public health policy making. These people are exposed to a variety of experiences, which affect their health and increase their susceptibility to various diseases during all stages of the migration progress. The purpose of this literature review was to investigate the impact of refugee-migration flow in Europe on public health. The access of these people to health services is an important aspect of their integration into society and of safeguarding public health. However, today, few EU countries provide equal access to health services for both migrants and refugees, as well as for the wider population of the host country. The range of health issues that can be associated with the migration of the populations is inevitably wide. This includes communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as work-related injuries. Further development of guidelines on access to health services is therefore needed, in order to improve the level of health and to avoid the emergence of secondary cases. Thus, the integration of refugees and migrants into the host countries will be reinforced and therefore public health will be safeguarded.