Assessing health systems’ preparedness for providing care for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants: a scoping review

Abstract

Abstract Background Health care systems and care professionals often face the challenge of providing adequate health care for migrant groups. The objective of this study is to answer the question of whether and how meeting the special health system requirements regarding refugees (R), asylum seekers (AS) and migrants (M) (RASM) is checked and evaluated. Methods A scoping review was used as a methodology of the research, with four electronic databases, websites of relevant organizations and European projects searched, using a strictly defined search strategy. Finally, 66 studies were included in the analysis. Results The included studies presented assessment of different types, aspects and facilities of health care, as well as various methods of analysis. In the vast majority of the studies (n = 52, 78%) interviews or questionnaires were used to collect data. The studies were mostly declared to be qualitative. The main issues assessed in the studies can be categorized into three groups: (i) legal aspects, (ii) before receiving health care and (iii) during health care usage. Conclusions RASM inflow is a big challenge for health care system in many countries. The first step to guarantee adequate health care for RASM is assessing how the system is functioning. This makes it possible to find gaps, indicate the directions of activities needed and monitor progress. Further work on the development of a comprehensive tool, checked in terms of validity and reliability assessment, and enabling examination of many aspects of health care for RASM should be carried out.