Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic response to strengthen undocumented migrant-sensitive health systems: case studies from four countries

Genovese, Eleonora; Page, Kathleen R.; Cailhol, Johann; Jackson, Yves

doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100601

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, refugees and migrants generally experienced greater difficulties in accessing health services that deepened existing inequalities 3. Though data on access to COVID-19 vaccination by migrant and refugee populations are largely limited to high-income settings,4 5 these negative impacts may have been greater in low-income and middle-income receiving countries,6 where there was a low supply of vaccination that resulted from the global inequality in vaccine distribution early in the response 7. In Latin America, the inclusion of refugees and migrants in NVPs for COVID-19 was variable and evolved over time, such that refugees and migrants were explicitly included in some country plans, included depending on migration status or initially excluded 8 9…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of policy and policy communication on COVID-19 vaccination inequalities among Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia: a comparative cross-sectional interrupted time-series analysis

Gomez,

Fernández-Niño,

Guillén

et al. 2024

BMJ Glob Health

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IntroductionEquitable access to vaccines for migrants and refugees is necessary to ensure their right to health and to achieve public health goals of reducing vaccine-preventable illness. Public health policies require regulatory frameworks and communication to effect uptake of effective vaccines among the target population. In Colombia, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Plan implicitly included Venezuelan refugees and migrants; however, initial communication of the policy indicated that vaccine availability was restricted to people with regular migration status. We estimated the impact of a public announcement, which clarified access for refugees and migrants, on vaccination coverage among Venezuelans living in Colombia.MethodsBetween 30 July 2021 and 5 February 2022, 6221 adult Venezuelans participated in a cross-sectional, population-based health survey. We used a comparative cross-sectional time-series analysis to estimate the effect of the October 2021 announcement on the average biweekly change in COVID-19 vaccine coverage of Venezuelans with regular and irregular migration status.Results71% of Venezuelans had an irregular status. The baseline (preannouncement) vaccine coverage was lower among people with an irregular status but increased at similar rates as those with a regular status. After the announcement, there was a level change of 14.49% (95% CI: 1.57 to 27.42, p=0.03) in vaccination rates among individuals with irregular migration status with a 4.61% increase in vaccination rate per biweekly period (95% CI: 1.71 to 7.51, p=0.004). By February 2022, there was a 26.2% relative increase in vaccinations among individuals with irregular migration status compared with what was expected without the announcement.ConclusionWhile there was no policy change, communication clarifying the policy drastically reduced vaccination inequalities across migration status. Lessons can be translated from the COVID-19 pandemic into more effective global, regional and local public health emergency preparedness and response to displacement.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of policy and policy communication on COVID-19 vaccination inequalities among Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia: a comparative cross-sectional interrupted time-series analysis

Gomez,

Fernández-Niño,

Guillén

et al. 2024

BMJ Glob Health

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“…Migrants are often under-represented in health decision-making processes ( 23 ), and European countries should critically examine their health services ability to address their health needs, also considering their perception of the health care received. This could lead to the development of new strategies to provide migrant-sensitive health services and systems ( 24 ). Furthermore, the studies exploring migrants’ own view on health needs and health care access are still exiguous, and more research on this topic is needed ( 13 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health needs and perception of health care quality among Asylum Seekers and Refugees in an Italian local health authority: A qualitative study

Marchetti

Preziosi

Zambri

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundMigrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees (ASRs) represent a vulnerable diversified population with increased risks of developing health problems, and in the hosting countries several barriers often hamper their access to the health services. Gathering information about ASRs’ experiences and perceptions of host country health care systems may contribute to improve the quality of health care provided. The aim of this study was to explore the health needs in their bio-psycho-social meaning, and the quality of health care as perceived from the ASRs’ perspective.MethodsThe qualitative descriptive study was conducted as part of the Project “G-START – testing a governance model of receiving and taking care of the Asylum Seekers and Refugees.” Through purposeful and snowball sampling, four Focus Groups conducted in English, Italian and French were carried out between July and August 2019, involving 50 ASRs hosted by four reception centers located on the territory pertaining to an Italian Local Health Authority covering a general population of 500.000 people. The analysis of data was categorical, and was performed using N-Vivo software.ResultsThe macro-categories emerged were the ASRs’ bio-psycho-social health needs, including mental health, sexual and reproductive health, food and nutrition, knowledge of the health care system, need for inclusion; healthcare services access, including barriers before and after the access and the ability of the local health system to respond to existing and evolving demands; strengths of the healthcare and reception systems, and suggestions for improving them in the future.Discussion and conclusionsASRs present vulnerabilities and specific health needs, and the health care system is not always able to guarantee access or to respond to these needs. Several obstacles have been highlighted, such as linguistic barriers and lack of cultural mediation, bureaucratic and administrative barriers, lack of knowledge of the Italian health care system. An effective reorganization of services driven by a more detailed output analysis of the target population needs, together with the use of cultural mediation, peer to peer education and support, and the training of health professionals are recommended to ensure a more accessible, equitable and effective health care system at local level.

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Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic response to strengthen undocumented migrant-sensitive health systems: case studies from four countries

Cited by 2 publications

References 22 publications

The impact of policy and policy communication on COVID-19 vaccination inequalities among Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia: a comparative cross-sectional interrupted time-series analysis

The impact of policy and policy communication on COVID-19 vaccination inequalities among Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia: a comparative cross-sectional interrupted time-series analysis

Health needs and perception of health care quality among Asylum Seekers and Refugees in an Italian local health authority: A qualitative study

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