A scoping review of non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health needs of Venezuelan migrants in South America

Abstract

BackgroundMigration of Venezuelan citizens to other South American countries has increased in recent years. While the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of infectious diseases in Venezuelan migrants across South America appears to be well described, the non-communicable disease (NCD) and maternal and child health needs in this population is less clear. A scoping review of existing peer-reviewed primary research and grey literature describing the epidemiology of NCDs and maternal and child health needs in Venezuelan migrants in major South American host countries was performed in order to highlight important gaps in knowledge. MethodsA scoping review was performed of peer-reviewed research and grey literature for NCD and maternal and child health needs among Venezuelan migrants living in the following host South American countries with greater than 100,000 migrants: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. A total of 47 electronic databases were searched for primary research published between 2017 and 2020 in either English or Spanish. ResultsOut of 1,098 initial articles retrieved, 17 records met inclusion criteria, with the majority identified from the grey literature. Most studies were published in 2019 and most were either primary reports published by non-governmental organizations within the grey literature search or cross-sectional qualitative studies. Studies came from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, with three records offering a regional perspective. Most studies provided broad data on NCDs and maternal and child health needs but lacked granular statistics. Our analysis found the rate of chronic disease among Venezuelan migrants to range from 9-14% within countries who reported this data. Significant rates of psychiatric conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder were reported. Other conditions described were ophthalmologic diseases, diabetes, chronic pain, asthma, cough, dyslipidemia, hypertension, arthritis, malnutrition, and obstetric complications, although exact statistics were limited. Obstacles to care included lack of healthcare access and affordability. ConclusionsExisting reports discuss important needs related to NCDs and maternal and child health in Venezuelan migrants in South American countries, but there are significant gaps in knowledge. Further research must describe in greater detail the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of NCDs and maternal and child health needs in Venezuelan migrants in

Environmental influences on childhood asthma: Climate change

“…For example, Leung et al 85 found that migrant status was associated with an increased risk of hospitalizations for asthma and other wheezing disorders in Hong Kong children, afterwards Li et al 86 investigating the prevalence of asthma and allergic symptoms in Suzhou, China, found that domestic migrants had a higher prevalence of asthma than local residents and recently Cacciani et al 87 investigated potentially avoidable hospitalizations for asthma in children and adolescents by migrant status in Italy and found that children with migrant backgrounds had a higher risk of hospitalization. Similar observations have been reported in 2021 by the group of Gallo Marin, 88 with a scoping review of noncommunicable diseases and maternal and child health needs of Venezuelan migrants in South America, and the study observed that environmental factors, such as poor housing conditions and exposure to air pollution, may contribute to the development of asthma and allergies in this population. The role of farm environment was analysed by Timm et al 89 in a three‐generation cohort study in Denmark founding that selective migration from farming environments was associated with an increased risk of asthma, suggesting that changes in environmental exposures, such as decreased exposure to endotoxins and farm animals, may contribute to this increased risk.…”

Maternal Care and Pregnancy Outcomes of Venezuelan and Colombian Refugees

“…Migration under these conditions is associated with significant challenges. Many experience physical hardships, emotional stress, physical violence, food insecurity, and other exposures and many have only limited or no access to health care, all of which can negatively impact their health and well-being [ 11 – 14 , 27 , 28 ]. Pregnant refuges and other immigrants are particularly vulnerable to the effects of migration-related stressor which can affect their access to maternal care services and negatively affect maternal-fetal outcomes [ 15 – 17 ].…”