The health of migrants and ethnic minorities in Europe: where do we go from here?

Abstract

Between 0.4 (Slovakia) and 15.3% (Estonia) of the European population were born in a non-EU-27 (European Union-27) country,1 and this proportion is increasing in most member states. Given that migrants and ethnic minorities do not always have equal access to health services, their rights to health and health care are important public health topics. To improve the basis for further research and advocacy, these issues were discussed at the fifth EUPHA European Conference on Migrant and Minority Ethnic Health in Granada, Spain, in April 2014 (more details of the conference, including the programme and the volume of abstracts, can be found at http://www.eupha-migranthealthconference.com/). The health of migrants and ethnic minorities should not be approached from a paternalistic perspective and with a focus only on deficits. On a population level, migrants (and also some ethnic minority groups) are comparatively healthier—especially with regard to non-communicable diseases such as cancer.2 Migrants and ethnic minorities are of course also exposed to health risks, such as limited accessibility to health care, …