Abstract
BackgroundThe relationship between migration and health has primarily focused on permanent migrants, although non-permanent migrants comprise a large proportion of global migrants. Non-permanent migrants may have distinct needs that affect their health outcomes. This systematic review 1) examined the evidence concerning whether non-permanent migrants have different health outcomes than other population groups for non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) and 2) sought to describe how non-permanent migration is defined and measured.MethodsFor this systematic review, we developed a comprehensive search string for terms about non-permanent migration and disease and screening rates for three NCDs (cancer, heart disease, and diabetes) and searched thirteen electronic databases using the search string. Authors reviewed and evaluated articles for full-text review; hand-searched specific journals and grey literature; and scanned reference lists of relevant studies. Authors extracted and assessed data based on standard reporting for epidemiologic studies.ResultsWe identified twelve peer-reviewed articles that examined NCD outcomes for non-permanent migrants as compared to other populations. Some studies showed worse or no significant differences in the NCD outcomes for non-permanent migrants compared to other groups. The articles reflected substantial diversity that exists among non-permanent migrants, which ranged from economic migrants to nomadic populations.ConclusionNon-permanent migrants varied in their NCD outcomes as compared to other groups. Our included studies were heterogenous in their study designs and their definitions and measurement of non-permanent migration, which limited the ability to make conclusive statements about the health of the populations as compared to other populations. More standardization is needed in research to better understand the diversity in these populations and quantify differences in risk factors and disease rates between non-permanent migrants and other groups.
Highlights
The relationship between migration and health has primarily focused on permanent migrants, non-permanent migrants comprise a large proportion of global migrants
Search string We developed a comprehensive search string to identify articles measuring the relationship between non-permanent migration and disease and screening rates for three noncommunicable diseases: cancer, heart disease, and diabetes
The non-permanent migrant groups examined included: three studies on migrant farmworkers in in the United States, who traveled across regions with the growing seasons [54,55,56]; one study on female non-local sex workers who had temporary visas to live in Hong Kong, China [63]; four studies on nomadic populations [58,59,60,61]; three studies of return migrants in Mexico, who had moved from
Summary
The relationship between migration and health has primarily focused on permanent migrants, non-permanent migrants comprise a large proportion of global migrants. Among NCDs, research has primarily focused on cancer, cardiovascular diseases, including diabetes, as they are the leading contributors to death worldwide [9,10,11,12]. With this large body of literature, some evidence suggests immigrants have better health outcomes than local populations, known as the ‘healthy migrant effect’ [13]. Research on rural-to-urban migrants has documented this same equivocal trend in NCD rates of disease across differing rural populations [23,24,25]. These differences in the burden of NCDs and their complications between permanent migrant populations and non-migrant populations are important to understand to guide necessary prevention and management strategies [26, 27]
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