Unmet Healthcare Needs Among Migrant Populations in Canada: Exploring the Research Landscape Through a Systematic Integrative Review.

Abstract

Migrants are a growing part of the Canadian population, yet they encounter many unmet healthcare needs. These needs arise from the difference between the services deemed necessary, often based on their unique socio-cultural background, and the services actually received. Therefore, a systematic integrative review was conducted to (1) identify the literature on unmet healthcare needs among different migrant populations in Canada, and (2) compile the reported factors associated with these unmet needs in various migrant groups. We systematically searched all major databases and grey literature sources. We included original articles that studied unmet healthcare needs among immigrants, refugees, and/or temporary migrants in Canada. Thirty-one studies reported unmet healthcare needs among migrants in Canada. We found five categories of unmet needs across different groups of migrants including immigrants, refugees, and temporary migrants. Immigrants and refugees face unique factors that influence the development of unmet needs, such as socio-cultural differences, communication difficulties, and lack of information. Alternatively, temporary migrants have unmet needs due to factors associated with their immigration clauses, such as healthcare coverage being conditional to work permit renewal or precarious living conditions associated with work-related housing. Further research is required on unmet needs of migrants that considers the variation of unmet needs and their causal factors within different groups of migrants, in particular, refugee claimants, foreign workers, international students, and elderly migrants.