Workshop: Active participation of migrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities in public health research

Abstract

Abstract To introduce the relevance, benefits and challenges of participatory approaches in public health research addressing issues of migrant and refugee health. Participation of stakeholders has a long tradition in fields of public health research, in particular in community-based research and health promotion. Today, increasing demands of grant agencies and policymakers in Europe challenge researchers to include stakeholders in all processes of health research. Active participation of migrants and refugees poses complex challenges for public health research including but, going beyond language problems and risks of stereotyping. The specific objectives of this workshop are: (1) to introduce current approaches for participation and their adaptability for the context of health research with migrants and refugees, (2) to explore participation in three projects that deal with issues like improving quality health care among chronically ill women with immigration background, introducing a health mediator model for refugees as well as ethical issues in participatory research with refugees and ethnic minority groups and (3) to discuss benefits and challenges of participatory approaches intended to improve health and health care services of specific groups. The workshop will start with an introduction providing a short overview of definitions and key concepts. Substantive presentations showcase three participatory projects in migrant health. A panel discussion, led by experienced moderators, with Prof Thomas Abel (PI of the MIWOCA project presented), Prof Antonio Chiarenza (WHO-HPH Task Force on Migration, Equity & Diversity, member of the Steering Committee of the EUPHA section on Migrant Health), Prof Luis Saboga-Nunes (EUPHA health promotion section) and Prof Sibel Sakarya (Department of Public Health Koç University) will address benefits and challenges of participation in migrant and refugee health research. The panel will open into a discussion to integrate audience’s experience and questions on participatory research. The workshop will be closed by the chair’s summary of lessons learnt and perspectives for future directions. Key messages Public health research for and with migrants and refugees poses basic and specific challenges. Experience with PR demonstrates the benefits of migrants’ and refugees’ active participation and the importance of adequate contextualizing of the problems and potential solutions.